


Through the Eyes of a Cemetery Wind Soldier

by LiagibaSiYseehc



Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Additional Warnings in Author's Note to Prevent Spoilers, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Optimus was never ambushed cuz I said so, Ratchet lives cuz he's way too good to die, alternate universe - AOE never happened, well some of it happened
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-09-09
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22948840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiagibaSiYseehc/pseuds/LiagibaSiYseehc
Summary: How did Cemetery Wind soldiers feel when they received the order to take down a particular Autobot leader? Could they all be as ruthless as we thought?They told her that the Autobots were to blame for the fight in Chicago, that they were heartless monsters, that theydeservedto be treated like any other Decepticon.That they deserved todie
Relationships: (paternal relationship), Optimus Prime/OFC (Parental), Optimus Prime/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 78
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Signature](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20590394) by [arabis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arabis/pseuds/arabis). 



> Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for my OC Riley Brown.
> 
> I searched AO3 top to bottom and couldn't find anyone writing about this, so I thought, why not? This could be an interesting idea to explore.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Riley Brown gripped the EMP gun tighter with her slick, clammy hands, realizing that this was the most nervous she had ever been when carrying out a mission.

Of course, it wasn't _carrying out a mission_ that scared her, she got used to that months ago, but rather the _objective_ of _this_ specific mission.

You see, ever since NEST had been renamed to Cemetery Wind, they had started to carry out missions that excluded their Autobot allies. At first, she merely _suspected_ that the Autobots were ignorant of this fact. Now, she was sure of it. The first few missions weren't too bad, taking down stray Decepticons, tracking down energon signals, nothing too suspicious. But _this_ mission, for this _particular_ mission…

Her team, as well as six other elite squadrons, all lead by field agent James Savoy, were ordered to take down Optimus Prime.

The plan was rather simple, really. They had already contacted Prime and told him to come to these coordinates. Even if the unsuspecting alien _had_ picked up their life signals when he drove up, he would simply assume that they were here to aid him, not harm him. Then, when he had ventured deep enough into the alley, enough for him to be surrounded, they would strike. Eighty four EMP guns, all set to 'stun', each aimed at a vital but vulnerable part of the Cybertronian's armour. He wouldn't have a chance to even react, much less put up a fight.

It really was the easiest mission she had ever been on, had the target been a Decepticon.

But it wasn't a simple Decepticon they were taking down, but rather the leader of their Autobot allies. Riley could still remember all the times they trained together, and how the noble alien leader had allowed her and her team to climb all over his body, granting them the chance to practice scaling a Decepticon in a real fight while giving them tips on how to best infiltrate a Cybertronian's body armour. She remembered every single Decepticon they had taken down together with the Autobots, recalled in vivid detail the rush of absolute _exhilaration_ she felt when she witnessed her allies, her _friends_ , deal blow after devastating blow to the fleeing Decepticons as she raced after them, ready to back them up with a perfectly timed bullet or EMP blast.

They told her that the Autobots were to blame for the fight in Chicago, that they were heartless monsters, that they _deserved_ to be treated like any other Decepticon.

That they deserved to _die_.

As much as her superiors wanted her to, Riley Brown could not bring herself to believe what they had told her. Surely the Autobots, who had trained tirelessly with them every single day without once losing their tempers, who occasionally stopped by the canteen just to check on a recruit who seemed less perky than normal, who celebrated human holidays with as much enthusiasm as someone who _actually_ belonged on Earth, couldn't possibly be the merciless, cold blooded killers the Decepticons were, right?

What she was doing, it almost felt like a betrayal.

Who was she kidding, it was _definitely_ a betrayal.

But her superiors had made a decision. They had decided that for humans to be _truly_ safe, they had to get rid of _all_ aliens, Autobots and Decepticons alike. Who was she to question them?

To do that would be to turn her back on the American government. She would be treated as a traitor, hunted down, and quite possibly be locked up for the rest of her life.

She couldn't do that to her parents. Her job was their main source of income. Without her, they would starve.

Try as she might, she could not bring herself to turn her back on her parents. Which meant however hesitant she may feel, she _must_ carry on this mission.

She _must_ fire her gun at Optimus Prime.

Goodness, just _thinking_ about it made her cringe! How could she possibly manage to actually do it?

"Our energon detectors just picked up the target's life signature. Target is approaching from fifty metres due North. Everyone get ready," Savoy's voice rang from her earpiece.

Oh gosh, this was actually happening. She was actually going to do this.

All around her soldiers steadied their stances and powered up their guns, taking on determined, almost _gleeful_ expressions.

_What in the world was wrong with them?_

"Forty five metres,"

Hands trembling, she fumbled with her gun and powered it up too. No sense in delaying the inevitable.

"Forty metres,"

Oh gosh… she had to do it, she _had_ to! Then why was her body screaming at her to stop?

"Thirty five,"

Slick, cold perspiration covered her whole body as she clutched her weapon closer. A buzzing started to build up in her brain, echoing within her ears as she struggled to stand upright.

_Come on, you have to do this._

This was a betrayal…

_You've done this millions of times before, just stand straight, aim, and fire! You don't even have to look at him. Just focus on his armour. You'll be fine!_

She would be fine. She wasn't alone in this mission. He wouldn't even be able to _recognize_ her in all the chaos. She just had to _suck it up_ and face this like a grown up.

"Thirty metres,"

"I need to use the restroom," she blurted, feeling her comrades eye her in surprise. Bathroom breaks were against protocol during missions.

"Cover for me?" she pleaded, trying to appear calm, as if she _wasn't_ contemplating treason. Her heart was pounding so fast that she was surprised they couldn't _hear_ it.

A dozen nods spurred her to turn around and sprint towards the first corner she saw.

What was she doing? _What was she doing?_ She was leaving behind her team, her friends, her duties, all for what? An alien who she would probably never meet again for the rest of her life.

Gah, she was so _weak_! She thought angrily as her feet thumped harshly against the concrete pavement. Rule 37: Soldiers must _never_ let their own personal feelings get in their way while carrying out missions. _Why_ was she running away? Why did she turn her back on her comrades? On her government? On her _country_?

How could she ignore everything she'd been taught her whole life? What happened to her loyalty?

Loyalty… loyalty had to be earned. Riley suddenly had a fleeting glimpse of a past memory. The red and blue alien had thrown himself forward to catch a bullet, a bullet originally meant for her. Later on, when she had gone to thank him, he simply smiled and said, "All human lives are worth protecting, especially those who risk their lives to save others'."

If _that_ didn't earn her loyalty, she didn't know what would.

"Twenty five,"

Suddenly, she _saw_ him. The majestic Peterbilt's paint job glittered and shone under the sunlight as he drove towards the alley where the rest of the Cemetery Wind soldiers were hidden, completely unaware of the fate that awaited him.

Riley's throat went dry. She _knew_ she was the only person who could warn him of the incoming danger, yet once she had done this, there was no going back. Her stable, carefree life would come to an end, replaced by days of running and avoiding capture as she became one of the country's most wanted felons.

Did she dare make such a decision?

Choosing between her country and an alien should have been the easiest choice ever, and yet, here she was, struggling over whether to betray her friends and family for an alien who had long since won over her respect and loyalty.

So preoccupied with her dilemma was Riley that she didn't notice the change in the Peterbilt's path. It was until he spoke that she finally realized he was right in front of her.

"Is something the matter, Miss Brown? You seem agitated,"

Riley was not ashamed to admit that she jumped, _literally_ jumped, a foot into the air at the sudden voice. Heart pounding, she faced the Peterbilt's grille and opened her mouth…

And closed it again.

How was she going to tell him? Was she _really_ going to tell him? If she ran back now, her teammates would simply assume she went to the bathroom and welcome her back. Nobody would know of her attempted betrayal.

Should she tell him? Now that he was right in front of her, the feat seemed even more daunting than previously thought. How do you tell someone that they went from being the humans' treasured ally to their most hated enemy?

This wasn't as easy as she'd thought, not that she believed it would be easy.

The semi, apparently assuming that she just didn't want to tell him, gave a small sigh.

"If you ever wish to talk about it, Miss Brown, know that my door is always open,"

With that, he started to back up, heading once more towards the alley where he would undoubtedly meet his demise.

"Wait!"

The shout had been a reflex, so Riley wasn't aware that she'd spoken up until the semi halted. After that, he just stopped there, waiting patiently.

_Okay, okay, deep breaths_.

"It's a trap," she blurted finally, "they set up an ambush. Seven elite teams are hiding among the alley, all holding EMP guns. When you transform, they will fire."

The semi became so still that she wondered if he had heard her. Desperately, she braced herself against the nose of the Peterbilt, trying half-heartedly to push him away from the alley.

"Please, you have to go. They want to _kill_ you! You must warn the Autobots! Tell them to hide!" she glanced at her watch fearfully, "I have to get back before they realise I'm gone…" She knew too well what was going to happen if she didn't.

Still, the Peterbilt remained silent.

Worried, she tried to address him again.

"Optimus Prime… sir, you _must_ leave now before it's too late!"

It was then the Autobot leader finally responded, his tone laced with doubt and disbelief.

"Why would the humans turn on us? We are their allies and have done nothing to prove otherwise,"

How was she going to reply to _that_?

Heaving a frustrated sigh, she placed her palms on the silvery grille of the semi, summing up every bit of conviction she could in her voice.

"Please, you have to believe me. If you drive into that alley, _you will be attacked_. I… I was one of the soldiers sent to bring you down, but I… I guess I just couldn't do it, I-"

"Target has stopped at twenty metres from our position. Everyone standby. As far as we are aware, the alien still hasn't gotten wise to the ambush yet," her earpiece commanded, "Even so, get ready to swarm the area on my signal. We _cannot_ take any chances."

Panicked, Riley glanced at the semi's windshields, knowing fully well that the Cybertronian's ultra-sensitive audio receptors would definitely be able to pick up what her earpiece just told her.

The Peterbilt seemed to sag slightly on his wheels.

"Why would the humans turn on us? We are their allies and have done nothing to prove otherwise,"

It was the second time he had asked this question, yet this time, it seemed to be directed towards himself.

He sounded so lost, so _forlorn_ that she suddenly _hated_ her government for making this _horrible_ decision.

But this was not the time for the Autobot leader to wallow in self-pity. They had to move. Now.

"You have to go, sir! Leave before it's too late!"

Giving the nose of the semi another half hearted but insistent push, Riley was pleasantly surprised when the Peterbilt's passenger door swung open.

He wanted _her_ to go with _him_?

"I… I can't do that, sir! I'm human! I need food, and water, and I won't be of any help… I'll just be a burden!" she stammered, slowly backing away, "If I go back now, they may not realise what I've done."

She knew the chances of that were close to zero, but she wasn't going to hinder the Autobot's escape just so she would have a smaller chance of getting caught.

"Your government is resourceful. They _will_ find out that you helped me, and use you as bait to draw me out of hiding," the semi replied, undeterred, "and they will succeed. Believe me when I say that you will be less of a burden to me under my protection than in the hands of your government."

Her head jerked up, unable to believe that the alien in front of her had just stated _matter-of-factly_ that he would risk his life to rescue her without hesitation.

How could she have even _thought_ of betraying this amazing, noble being?

She glanced back at the alley, where her teammates were waiting. Her teammates, who _took pride_ in being on the squadron that was chosen to take down the leader of the Autobots, who were willing to ignore the trust and friendship they had forged with the Autobots just because their superiors told them to.

Then she looked at Optimus Prime, who, despite just being told that humans had turned on him, was patiently waiting for her, _a human_ , no less, to get in his alternate mode, even though he knew his life would be more at risk the longer he stayed.

It wasn't really that much of a choice.

With that in mind, she slung her gun over her shoulder and climbed into the waiting semi.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley's made her decision. Now it's time for her to **get out of there**.

The door slammed shut, and Riley was thrown to her side as the semi executed a sharp 180 degree turn, racing off in the opposite direction.

"My apologies," the Peterbilt's radio rumbled. He waited until she had pushed herself upright before buckling her in securely with a seatbelt.

"Target is escaping! Swarm the area now!" her earpiece barked.

Riley realized with a jolt of fear that this was her first time hearing the order where she was not the one _carrying it out_. Everything she had learned during training, every single technique she came up with with her teammates to effectively capture a target, would be directly used against her.

_So this was how the Decepticons felt._

She would be lying if she said she wasn't the _teensiest bit_ nervous.

"Put your earpiece on my dashboard,"

She obeyed compliantly, removing the small metal device from her ear and placing it on the surface in front of her.

Arcs of electricity zapped from the leather to the earpiece briefly before Optimus's voice emerged from the radio again.

"I have already hacked into your communication frequency. Get rid of the earpiece now. It is no longer of use to us, and if my data banks serve me well, it has a tracking device concealed inside, does it not?"

Crap! She had completely forgotten about that.

Pinching the earpiece gingerly with two fingers, she waited for Optimus to open his window before hurling it as far as she could.

"My gun also contains a tracking device!" she recalled suddenly, "Should I dump it out as well?"

A beam of light passed over her, lingering momentarily over the weapon strapped over her shoulders.

"The device seems to be removable. It is located approximately five centimetres above the trigger. Remove it. Keep the gun, it could be useful," he paused a bit before adding, "you might want to consider powering down your weapon first, lest it misfires."

Riley's face turned beet red. In all the excitement she had totally forgotten the most important rule of being a NEST soldier, _never leave a powered up weapon unattended, ALWAYS power it back down after you have finished using it_.

"Sor-"

Her apology was cut short by the telltale crackle of a fired EMP shot from her right, and the semi swerved to avoid the blast, throwing her against the cabin wall. Biting back a curse, she reached for her own gun and unbuckled her seatbelt, scrambling out of her seat and ducking her head out of the window.

Having heard Savoy's command, the Cemetery Wind soldiers had already piled back into their jeeps, _jeeps that the Autobots had helped design,_ she thought grimly, and was currently giving chase to their target in their non-sentient vehicles. In fact, she could see one of them coming up from behind.

She raised her gun and fired once, twice. Her blasts hit the jeep's hood, releasing high voltages of electricity that instantly crippled the vehicle's engine. The jeep veered to the side, spinning uncontrollably, before coming to a sudden halt at the side of the road, its front smoking.

"Requesting backup! Send out the choppers _now_!" Savoy's voice barked from Optimus's radio.

Already she could hear the swishing throb of rotary blades over the roar of the Prime's own engine. Hissing softly, she climbed back into the semi and set her gun from 'stun' to 'kill'. This would drain the weapon quicker, but the shots it fired would be more lethal, and thus more effective. This was life or death. She couldn't afford to be kind.

There was a loud zap and the whole cabin rocked, sending her sprawling into her seats. The Autobot's pained roar was _devastating_ , a primal sound of anguish that tore at her heart and shook her to the core. White hot fury burned in her chest. How _dare_ they, when he had given his _life_ to save their planet, had given up his _freedom_ just so the government could feel more 'secure' knowing that he was 'under their control', cast him away and attack him the instant he became useless to their cause? Did they _actually_ just see him as nothing more than a _tool_? Was _this_ what humanity had been reduced to?

She had already been appalled by her superiors' decision beforehand (that's literally why she was sitting inside Optimus Prime instead of trying to take him down along with those heartless _creatures_ who she _once_ called her friends), but somehow, hearing this magnificent regal alien cry out in pain, and knowing that it was due to _her_ kind, made it a thousand times worse.

Her government's cowardance _disgusted_ her. Did they not see that the Autobots were living beings with feelings and emotions? How could they be so cold-blooded as to commit _genocide_ , _yes, this was definitely genocide_ , she thought, just because they were wary of the Autobot's superior size and technology? How could they take advantage of the Autobots' kindness and betray them the second the Decepticons no longer posed a threat to humanity?

She mentally shook herself. There was no time for her to be caught up in her emotions. Optimus needed her help. Propping her gun against the passenger side window, her eyes narrowed as she spotted another jeep near the Peterbilt's rear, then widened as a soldier inside put aside his EMP gun and pulled out a very real, bullet-shooting gun.

"Get down!" was the only thing she heard before she was jerked back into the safety of the semi, falling face first onto the leather seats as various seat belts wrapped around her waist and chest pinned her tightly against the coarse fabric.

Gunshots rang, hitting the side of the Peterbilt with loud, deafening thunks. Riley grimaced as the alien's frame shook from the impact. _At least the soldier's using a normal gun_ , she thought grimly. Ordinary bullets would hurt, but they wouldn't do anything to the Cybertronian's advanced body armour other than scratch its paint.

EMP blasts, on the other hand… a direct hit to his spark chamber could probably be fatal.

* * *

The soldier climbed back into the jeep he was riding, mind reeling in disbelief and shock. He was quite positive that he had just seen a _human_ sitting in the target's interior. Not only that, but the female's face had been twisted into a fearful expression right before she was yanked back into the alien forcefully.

He guessed his superiors were right. The Autobots _were_ monsters. And this one had a hostage.

But _wait_ , the human had looked familiar, and she couldn't have been a regular civilian. They had cleared out the area days ago in preparation of this alien's capture. This could only mean one thing…

Suddenly, the pieces clicked together in his mind, and he let out a small, horrified gasp.

"Riley…"

Of course! She had gone to use the restroom! The alien must have somehow subdued her and dragged her, kicking and screaming, inside his cabin. His blood went cold at the thought of what the huge, metallic alien would do to his comrade, his _friend_.

"Commander!" he sounded like he was on the brink of panic, "target has obtained a _hostage_!"

He waited for Savoy to order all units to attack, to retrieve the fallen soldier at all cost.

"All units retreat,"

_WHAT?_

"But, Commander…"

"I said, _all units retreat_. _Stand down_ , soldier, do you hear me?"

They were letting the alien get away. With _her_.

Gritting his teeth, he closed his eyes and uttered a single, heartfelt vow.

"Hang on, Riley, I'm getting you back. I promise,"

* * *

" _All units retreat,"_

Riley slowly freed herself from the tangle of seatbelts, unable to believe what she had just heard.

"They're actually retreating!" she exclaimed as she peeked out at the Prime's side mirrors. That was a surprise, they had _never_ retreated from missions before.

"And they believe you to be my hostage," the semi mused, "this could be advantageous to us, at least until they find out of your betrayal."

"Yeah," Riley replied absentmindedly, her eyes still tracking the retreating jeeps. There was something weird going on, she was sure of it. Never once in her training had she been taught to just _retreat_ without a truly significant reason. And the risk of losing a soldier was definitely _not_ a big enough reason.

The Peterbilt seemed to read her thoughts.

"I find their ease in allowing us to escape so easily puzzling as well," he commented, "but for now let us focus on our survival."

She nodded slowly, powering down her gun and leaning back into her seat. Yet, try as she might, she just couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

What could it possibly be?

* * *

By the time Optimus had finally found a suitable place to recharge for the night, it was getting pretty dark, and Riley could already feel the day's exhaustion catching up to her. Biting back a yawn, she fumbled for the door, hoping to respect the alien leader's personal space while he recharged (after all, who would want to sleep with someone _inside_ you? That's just _weird_ ), only to hear the lock click into place. Puzzled, she turned to face the dashboard, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Sir, I can sleep on the floor outside. I wouldn't want to bother you while you recharge-"

"There is no need to do so, Miss Brown. I would not mind if you rested in my cabin," a navy blue blanket materialized next to her as if to emphasize his point.

Blushing slightly, Riley scooted over to the blanket, picked it up, and, after a moment of hesitation, curled up on the smooth leather seats, allowing herself to fall into the embrace of unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optimus muses on his thoughts about humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you haven't already noticed, this story is AU.
> 
> I blatantly _deny_ the existence of Age of Extinction and The Last Knight. In my opinion, the franchise ended at Dark of the Moon.
> 
> I mean, the fourth and fifth movies, they're _nice_ , but honestly, _what have they done to poor Optimus?_
> 
> He just… no longer looks like he transforms into a semi anymore. I mean, seriously. WHERE ARE HIS WHEELS? WHERE ARE HIS WINDOWS? WHY ON EARTH DOES HE HAVE _MUSCLES_?
> 
> Sorry, I had to get that off my chest, it's been sitting there for quite some time now.
> 
> Okay, rant _over_. Enjoy the story!

The humans had betrayed them.

It was astonishing, really, how he had never really considered that a possibility until now. Fear, wariness, distrust. _Those_ sentiments he expected and understood. After all, they _were_ much bigger, and therefore appeared rather threatening, to their human allies-

The humans were no longer their allies.

They had been betrayed.

_Millions_ of vorns of war, of darkness and hopelessness, yet _this_ … this _betrayal_ , had hurt him more than the countless battles ever could.

Optimus had long since accepted the fact that most Decepticons would stay loyal to Megatron no matter the cost, so their attacks on the Autobots, despite being a little disheartening, did not faze him as much as they did vorns ago. Simply put, he _expected_ the attacks.

Humans, on the other hand… he had _trusted_ them, and they had taken that trust, twisted it, and stabbed him in the back with it.

He had trusted them, and they betrayed him.

He had humbled himself for the humans, allowed them to call him and his Autobots _machines_ , _scrap metal_ when they thought he was not listening. He had patiently endured hours and hours of _(pointless)_ meetings with various human representatives, listening to them complain about _why_ he refused to hand over _(highly destructive and extremely dangerous)_ Cybertronian weaponry to their countries, or how he and his team had _(while saving their citizens from certain death)_ made a huge mess out of their cities. _Not once_ had he lost his temper, simply because…

Why?

_Why_ had he done all those things? Why was he fighting for the humans? It was clear- it had always been clear- that humans were a primitive and violent race. Ironhide had warned him of this, back when the humans had taken Bumblebee for their inhumane experiments. He had dismissed those worries, naively believed that they were only acting out of self preservation, that they would not repeat such an act now that they _knew_ the Autobots meant no harm.

He was so wrong.

He knew that now. Humans were _not_ worth fighting for. He must gather his Autobots and leave-

A movement inside his cabin halted his thoughts. He turned his attention to his passenger and watched, intrigued, as the drowsy femme mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like _"not gonna betray him"_ before snuggling further into his seats.

Of course.

The tiny femme's simple action reminded him of what he had seen in the humans in the first place, something that most Decepticons did not, and could never possess.

Potential to do good.

Optimus remembered seeing Riley Brown pacing nervously by the edge of the street as he was driving towards the alley that would have marked his downfall. The soldier's face had been ablaze with a kind of intense _defiance_ that seemed to draw him to her immediately. The instant he had laid optics upon her, he had known deep in his spark that it was _paramount_ for him to stop and drive up to her. He had not understood _why_ at that moment, only felt a sense of foreboding that something _very bad_ was going to happen if he did not stop in his tracks and confront the young woman.

The way Riley Brown's face wavered momentarily with hesitation before settling down into fierce determination would be forever etched into his data banks.

He did not know what shocked him more, the fact that humans had disregarded their alliance and betrayed them, or that this tiny human femme had risked everything in her life to warn him. Her commanders had ordered the execution of his species, and despite knowing that she would be treated as a traitor, despite knowing that there was _no way_ she could possibly benefit from it, Riley Brown had ignored, no, _violated_ , her superiors' orders and chose to assist him.

In doing so, she had saved his life.

_As long as people like Riley Brown continue to exist on Earth, this planet is worth protecting_ , he decided, right before his sensors alerted him of activity inside his cabin.

The femme was awake.

* * *

_The briefing room was cramped and stuffy, a stark contrast to the spacious Autobot hangar where they normally held their mission briefings._

" _Alright, listen up!"_

_She snapped to attention as the voice of her commander drifted across the room._

" _The government has decided to end our alliance with the aliens. We are to treat all Transformers the same way. No more Autobots and Decepticons, it is only us and them now."_

_No, no, no, no, NO! This was wrong! Why would they-_

" _You all saw how Sentinel collaborated with the Decepticons in Chicago. Nearly a million civilians were killed by that event. Lest I remind you that it was_ Optimus Prime _, the leader of the Autobots himself, who brought Sentinel to Earth, who convinced us that he was trustworthy. The Autobots have tricked us into believing their lies for far too long. It's about time we humans fight back."_

_Not gonna betray him, she muttered fiercely to herself, not gonna betray him!_

" _Not going to betray him, did you say?"_

_The scene shifted in front of her, walls of the briefing room spiraling away and condensing to form familiar patterned wallpaper._ Home _, she realized._

_Her parents were there too, and they were… crying? Accusing stares met her horrified eyes, condescending fingers seemed to pierce themselves into her heart._

" _You TRAITOR!" her mother's shriek tore at her ears._

_No! She wasn't a traitor! She wasn't!_

" _But you are," a voice whispered, "and now your family will pay the price."_

_Uninformed soldiers burst in through the windows, grabbing her sobbing parents roughly._

_NO!_

_She lunged at a soldier, only to be held back by shackles clasped around her wrists._

_What? How-_

" _Take them away,"_

_NO!_

_She yanked on her restraints, snarling like a feral animal as her colleagues dragged her screaming parents out of the apartment._

_NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-_

* * *

Riley jerked upright, breathing heavily. Both her heart rate and blood pressure indicated that she was highly stressed. She just sat there, unmoving, for several seconds, then Optimus felt her scrabbling at the door handle.

"Miss Brown, are you alright? Your vitals are highly elevated,"

She jerked, as if startled by his voice, then replied with a slightly trembling tone, "It's nothing, sir, I just… I need some time alone."

Bemused, Optimus let her open his door, watching as she tumbled out of his interior and scrambled towards the exit. He was about to close his passenger door when his scanners picked up several dozen life signals approaching the infrastructure.

Human life signals.

One of those signals had almost reached the entrance to the building, the same one that Riley Brown was exiting from.

"Miss Brown, stop!" the human was too far away to hear his warning, and if he raised his voice any further, the humans outside the building would hear him.

Primus! He should have been more careful!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! I just really wanted to explore this from Optimus's perspective. Thought it'd make things more _interesting_.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley gets ~~captured~~ rescued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well _duh_ , what did you _think_ was gonna happen?

She was here. She was _right behind_ this door. The tracking device told him as much. The sense of anticipation in the soldier's heart, one that had been steadily growing ever since he first saw the flashing dot on the display's screen that signified her location, swelled so much he was sure his chest would burst if he were to wait any longer.

In a few moments, she would be _safe_. The alien would be subdued, and he would finally, _finally_ , be able to get her back. He _did_ promise to do so, didn't he?

Persuading his commander to approve this mission had been tiresome and frustrating. Savoy wanted to wait until the alien had rounded up all of its allies before descending upon them in one fell swoop. This was clever, he wouldn't deny it, but that would mean letting Riley remain in the enemy's grasp for much, much longer. He would, no, _could_ not bear to just _sit and wait_ while the aliens did goodness knew what to-

He forcefully cut off his train of thought, knowing that allowing his imagination to run wild would result in him breaking down in front of everyone. It would not be the first time he had done so.

* * *

_The glowing dot blinked as it shifted slowly across the monitor, its calm, steady pulse a stark contrast to the sudden surprise and rage that dashed across his mind._

_"What is that," he demanded, not caring that his voice bleed urgency and desperation._

_"That," his commander replied, unaffected by his brash behaviour, "is the signal emitted by the tracking device concealed in the captured soldier's weapon. The alien may have forced her to remove her earpiece, but it did not think to check the EMP gun she was carrying, fortunately for us."_

_They put her in danger, just so they could track down the alien._

_It was a miracle he did not pounce on his commander in his anger-fueled haze, but he managed to stay composed. He had to, for her, for_ Riley _. He vowed to get her back, and he was not one to go back on his promises._

_Gosh, what was the alien doing to her? He could only imagine she would be tortured for information. The location of their military bases, perhaps? Or maybe their commonly used tactics for capturing targets. She wouldn't talk, obviously. Typical Riley, loyal to a fault. The alien wouldn't get a single word out of her. No, he wasn't afraid of Riley breaking down during her interrogation._

_He was afraid of the alien's reaction to her defiance._

_Hot, wicked, glowing energon swords. Deadly ion blasters. All of which has the capability to reduce a human being to ashes. And if the gigantic metallic alien didn't want to use his weapons, merely his brute strength would be more than enough to reduce Riley into a screaming, bleeding mess…_

_The world whirled around him, and the last thing he heard was the concerned exclamations of his comrades._

* * *

He shook himself out of his thoughts, tightening his grip on his weapon before inching even closer to the door that stood between him and _Riley Brown_. He was _so close_ now. One more step and he could-

The door flew open, and out came the person who had occupied his thoughts ever since he witnessed her capture.

"Riley…" he breathed, drinking up the sight of her greedily. To his relief, she appeared to be unharmed. A little shaken up, maybe, but as far as he could tell, she was in perfect health.

Alarm quickly replaced relief as the person before him _froze_ , her _beautiful_ emerald green eyes slowly growing wide with fear as she took in the sight of him. Trepidation evident in her expression, she abruptly spun around and sprinted back towards the building.

"Riley, wait!"

Putting caution to the wind, he dropped his weapon and raced after the terrified young woman, catching up to her in seconds. Reaching out, he grabbed her arm and pulled the frightened female into a tight hug, feeling her heart thump harshly against his chest.

"It's okay, it's okay, you're safe now," he murmured gently, pulling back to study her face, "I'll never let it come near you again."

"No! Please…" she protested weakly, struggling fruitlessly in his grasp.

Rage filled his systems again as he held her pitiful, helpless form firmly against him. _What on earth has that monster done to her?_ This wasn't the Riley he knew. It was almost like she was… broken.

With trembling hands, he drew her even closer to him.

"Riley, _please_ , calm down. Our team is preparing to infiltrate the building as we speak. We've got that son of a gun cornered," he whispered, "It'll all be over soon."

She seemed to stiften at his words.

"He's… he's not inside," she told him, her tone edged with desperation, "He dropped me off here and left to find something. I… I don't know where he went, but he's not here."

He. She called the alien ' _he_ '.

"You don't have to defend it anymore, Riley," he said forcefully. His hands gripped her shoulders tightly, determined to make her _understand_ what his words truly _conveyed_ , to make her _know_ that she was finally _safe_ , that she had nothing to fear anymore.

"That alien _cannot_ threaten you, _ever_ again. You don't have to be afraid of it, do you understand?"

She blinked at him, and then, as if accepting defeat, nodded mutely.

Relief and triumph coursed through him, and he drew her to him again, feeling the tension in her frame slowly drain away.

"Captain, the alien is nowhere to be found!"

Jerking out of the embrace, he jabbed at his earpiece harshly.

"Did you search the whole building? Did you check the roof? I want you to do a whole perimeter sweep. Do _not_ let that alien get away, do you hear me?"

It took several minutes of frantic searching before he finally conceded defeat. Seemingly impossibly, the alien had escaped. Again. This time on _his_ watch. A growl of frustration rose from his throat as he _flung_ his earpiece on the ground harshly. For the first time ever, he had failed his mission.

Fighting back a groan of dismay, he turned to regard the soldier he'd rescued. She was staring at him with a strange glint in her eye. He couldn't really read her expression, but he supposed she was blaming him for letting her kidnapper get away.

_Well_ , he thought in defense, _at least I rescued a hostage_.

He just had to convince his commander not to blame him for losing their only way to track the hostile alien.

* * *

Optimus knew immediately that he had to do something quickly, lest his existence be discovered by the humans surrounding the building. It was pointless to attempt a rescue on Miss Brown, for such an act would neither aid him or her, provided that the soldiers still believed her to be loyal.

Which, according to the conversation he had just overheard, they did.

Having scanned the building thoroughly beforehand, Optimus quickly retreated to the optimum location for avoiding detection, where his alternate mode would be the least conspicuous- the parking lot.

"Riley, _please_ , calm down. Our team is preparing to infiltrate the building as we speak. We've got that son of a gun cornered," he distantly heard the soldier holding Miss Brown, presumably the person in charge of this particular mission, say. The person was so preoccupied with the woman in front of him that he did not even notice a lone semi slinking across the compound towards the car park.

Optimus could not be more grateful for his ability to roll forwards without starting his engine at that moment.

Having found a suitable spot, he immediately locked up his motor functions to prevent himself from accidentally moving and blowing his cover. Paint nanites swarmed across his exterior, converting blue and red to a less discernible black. A swift command to his spark chamber caused his energon signature to be shielded from even the most sensitive of detectors- being a Prime granted certain… capabilities that other Cybertronians did not possess. He was extremely glad that he had not seen the need to inform the humans of this fact. Last but not least, holographic projections concealed the two Autobot symbols gracing his grille and steering wheel. His disguise was complete- and not a second too soon.

Half a dozen Cemetery Wind soldiers advanced into the parking lot, EMP gun and portable energon detectors in hand. Systematically, they swept across the parking space, pausing only to check out vehicles similar to the size of his alternate mode.

As a soldier paused in front of him, eyes narrowed suspiciously, Optimus felt his spark pulse race. It was clear that the soldier recognized the make and model of his form. Would his disguise hold? Or would the soldier realize who he was?

The device in the person's hand beeped a negative, and the soldier, seemingly satisfied, moved on to the next vehicle.

"Captain, the alien is nowhere to be found!" another soldier reported moments later, and the frustrated exclamation that followed seconds after only added to Optimus's relief.

He watched silently as the uniformed men retreated dejectedly after several minutes, his spark clenching with guilt when he spotted Miss Brown's small figure among them. Immediately, he knew without a doubt that he was going to do whatever he could to rescue her as soon as possible, for he was certain her government was bound to find out of her betrayal eventually.

With a sinking spark, he forced himself to remain still as the Cemetery Wind soldiers drove away with the only human he trusted.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley finds a really good reason to hate James Savoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After reading this chapter, you might feel an unexplainable urge to stab James Savoy in the gut. Don't worry, this is a perfectly normal reaction. I envisioned Riley pulling out a dagger and knifing Savoy too when I was writing this chapter, but alas that would completely spoil the story. Rest assured, I plan to make Savoy suffer later on in further chapters, just be patient ;)

It was surprising how easily he was able to hack into Cemetery Wind's mainframe, given that it was a semi-government regulated organisation. By back-tracing the frequency he obtained from their communications channel, using the signature from Miss Brown's earpiece to mask his own, he was accepted into the system in seconds, disguised as one of the system's own softwares.

Browsing through the security footage of various security cameras, he stopped when the image showed the familiar face of Miss Brown. She was currently seated in a conference room, surrounded by several soldiers and government officials, no doubt being questioned about his whereabouts.

He tried to comm the Autobots once more, just as he had done for every two hours ever since he met Miss Brown. No response. This either meant that the humans had developed technology advanced enough to block their communications, or that the Autobots were no longer online to receive his pings.

He sincerely hoped it was merely the first alternative.

Venting softly, he accessed the live security footage once more, and began to watch.

* * *

Interrogation, Riley found out, was a lot more fun when _she_ was the one _doing_ the interrogation. After being asked to recount everything that happened while she was 'abducted' ( _Did the alien harm you in any way? Did the alien force you to reveal any intel related to our organisation? Do you know where the alien could have gone? Did the alien mention anything that could come in useful when capturing it? No, no, no, and no_ ) for nearly five times, she finally lost her patience.

"Look," she snapped, slamming her hands on the metal table to mask her nervousness, "I've told you all I that I know, okay? Stop asking the same questions over and over again."

She knew what they were doing. It was a common tactic during interrogation, asking the same question multiple times from different angles, waiting to see if the person would slip up and say something wrong, or crack under the pressure.

The fact that they were using this tactic on her unnerved her more than she dared to show.

Savoy eyed her calculatingly, "Answer me one last time then, Miss Brown, _do you know where the machine is_?"

She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from snarling. This person, no, this _cold-blooded, inhuman creature_ in front of her dared to call Optimus Prime a _machine_? _He_ was the one who helped them despite of what their species did to one of his Autobots, even going so far as to aid them in settling conflict between her government and other countries', conflicts among _humans_ , conflicts that he had no obligation to assist in solving, and yet he still did. Why? Simply out of the goodness of his spark, because he wished to minimize human casualties. And yet in return, humans had ridiculed him and his kind by calling them _robots_ , _scrap metal_. It was a miracle the Autobots hadn't declared war on the humans yet.

And now this gutless creature in front of her was calling their leader a _machine_.

Every single muscle in her body _screamed_ at her to pounce on her ex-commander and claw at every inch of exposed skin she could find, gouging at the flesh with her nails until she drew blood. Her fingers twitched with anticipation at the thought. Oh, she was going to make Savoy pay for what he said-

 _They're watching you_ , she reminded herself, _they're waiting for you to make a mistake_. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she clenched her hands into fists before replying.

"No," she spat venomously, "just as I've _told you_ a million times before, I _don't_ know where Optimus Prime is. I _don't know_ , and I _never will_ , understand?"

Savoy's expression turned cold. "You had your chance, Miss Brown," he turned to the soldier who 'rescued' her, "Captain, take your men and leave us."

"Commander? I-"

"You heard me, soldier. Leave,"

Somehow, Riley _didn't_ want the soldiers to leave. After all, she was more familiar with them, and she felt more… _assured_ in their presence. Watching them exit the room one by one, leaving her all alone with the high ranking government officials, enhanced her sense of foreboding even further.

As soon as the door closed, Savoy's expression turned dark, _dangerous_ , as he faced her once more.

"We tried to play nice, Miss Brown. All you had to do was _tell us where that alien is_ , and we were prepared to let you go without repercussions for your previous actions,"

Something was wrong. Something was _very_ wrong. Forcing down her edginess, she glared at the man challengingly.

"What on _earth_ are you talking about? I didn't do anything wrong,"

His smile only widened at her reaction, "Are you _sure_ about that, Miss Brown?"

 _He's just bluffing, he just bluffing_ , she reassured herself, _he's trying to make you crack. Don't give him anything to work with._

"Did you _really_ think you could fool us, Miss Brown? You truly are courageous, aiding and harbouring a wanted felon, I'll give you that. Too bad you chose the wrong side,"

She hadn't been aware of how clammy her hands had become until then, not until she noticed how _confident_ Savoy had sounded when he accused her. It was almost as if he _knew_ …

"I'm certain you are familiar with the design of our standard issue jeeps, are you not? Then you'll likely be aware of the fact that all Cemetery Wind vehicles are mounted with a dashboard camera that records everything during missions,"

Her blood ran cold.

Savoy nodded at one of the officials, "Play the footage."

" _Target is escaping! Swarm the area now!"_

" _Come on, you heard the commander, let's move it!"_

 _The image swayed slightly for several seconds_ (she assumed it was due to the soldiers climbing into the jeep) _, then the vehicle's engine rumbled to a start deafeningly._

_Within seconds the rear of a flame patterned semi came into view, and the jeep's engine roared even louder as it accelerated._

" _Got eyes on target, commander, engaging now,"_

_The high pitched whine of a powering up EMP gun was quickly followed by a telltale crackle and a flash of blue light speeding directly towards the Peterbilt. The semi swerved left to avoid the blast, and a small figure emerged from the passenger window, raising her weapon to fire twice in rapid succession._

" _Crap, crap crap!"_

_The jeep shuddered as the shots hit the hood of the vehicle. Arcs of blue white electricity filled the screen before the image frizzled into static._

Before Riley could defend herself, the official rewound the recording until the screen showed the figure leaning out of the semi once more. The image enlarged, zooming in clearly on her face.

Fear encased her heart in its icy grip, sending jolting sensations of absolute _terror_ up her spine. They _knew_ , and they had _proof_. She was already in their custody, helpless, all alone, with nowhere to escape to and no one to turn to. The consequence of treason, she knew, was a lifetime in prison, no doubt locked up with the worst criminals the brig could offer. Every single day would be worse than hell, and her parents…

Oh gosh her PARENTS.

What would they do without her salary? They would no longer be able to pay the rent, which meant they would be homeless. They wouldn't have enough for three meals per day, which meant they would starve… and that's only if the government _didn't_ suspect them of being traitors and go after them because of her.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh, it was like a nightmare she would never wake up from! What should she d-

"I'll ask you one last time, _soldier_ ," Savoy cut into her thoughts, " _Where is Optimus Prime?_ Tell us, and we will delete the footage. You can go back to your team and this world will be one alien less. This… incident will be forgotten as soon as we successfully apprehend the alien. All shall be forgiven, as long as you cooperate."

They were offering to let her go free, despite what she'd done. If she agreed, her parents would be safe, and she would return to her squadron. Everything would go back to normal, and it would be as if nothing had happened. She wouldn't have to fear for the lives of her family anymore, and all she had to do was to give up the location of Optimus-

 _What on earth was she doing?_ Was she _actually_ considering betraying the being who saved her life and countless others'? The being who had done nothing but help humans ever since he arrived on Earth? The being who was being hunted _just_ because he was an alien, even though he did _nothing_ wrong? Instantly, she felt _disgusted_ with herself. How could she have forgotten what had driven her to refute her government's orders in the first place? How could she have almost stooped down to her teammates' level, to just ignore her _conscience_ and seek the easy way out? No, she had made the right decision before, and she was _sticking_ with it.

Finally in consensus with herself, she stood up and raised her chin defiantly.

"Do whatever you want with me," she hissed at Savoy's startled face, "but I will _never_ betray Optimus Prime."

Savoy couldn't help utter a small sound of surprise. This was… unexpected. He thought the subject would break down as soon as she realized they _knew_ of her betrayal, that she would beg for forgiveness and promise to do whatever it took to regain their trust.

He never expected the subject to _admit_ outright that she was going to continue defying their country.

But this didn't matter. He still had one last move. One that he _knew_ would utterly _devastate_ the soldier glaring at him.

"Do you know _how_ we tracked you down, Miss Brown?" he asked, his voice silky, taunting, mocking, watching as the subject's eyes narrowed in confusion. Oh yes, this was going to _destroy_ her.

"People like you, you're all the same. I know why you're doing this, why you're defying us. You think you're so unique and powerful, don't you? Being able to help the _big alien robot_ and keep it safe. Well, you're _not_. The reason we were able to find you was the tracker in your weapon," the young woman's eyes widened in horror, "Yes, shocking, isn't it? How you managed to forget such a _vital component_ in your EMP gun when you're buried under the _haze of self confidence_ at aiding one of our most wanted felons escape."

He continued his verbal assault, sending each word slamming into her relentlessly, watching with satisfaction as the woman recoiled from each syllable as if slapped in the face.

Then came the final blow, "The thing about people like you is that you _think_ you're so useful, but you're _not_. You thought you were helping the alien, but all you did was lead us to it. Don't you _get_ it? Anything you do is futile. No matter how hard you try, you will _always_ end up aiding us anyway, either directly or indirectly, so why resist? Cooperate now. The results will be the same no matter what you do, but complying can make things _so much easier_ for you."

She led them straight to Optimus. This meant she was just as bad as the rest of them, perhaps even _worse_. After all, the Autobot leader had _trusted_ her, and she had let him down and betrayed him.

She betrayed him.

This was all her fault.

Something between a choked sob and a scream of frustration escaped her. What was she even _thinking_ , believing that she could be of any practical value to the Prime? Hey, she even told him herself, she would just be a burden if she went with him, and yet the Autobot leader, out of kindness and nothing else, had _insisted_ to take her in.

And _this_ was how she repaid him.

"Well?"

If nothing she did could _help_ , the least she could do would be _not to make things worse_.

Steeling herself, she shook her head mutely.

Nothing could prepare her for Savoy's enraged roar as he shoved her to the tiled floor roughly.

"Now you listen here you traitorous wrench," his face was absolutely _livid_ , "I lost my _sister_ in Chicago, and I'm not going to let a miserable girl like _you_ stop me from getting my revenge, you hear me? So whether you are _willing_ or not, you are helping us capture that machine."

He reached for a rectangular looking device, and Optimus felt his spark seize as he recognized what it was.

The _grocyp_. How was this even possible? The humans couldn't have possibly obtained this technology unless they…

"Reverse engineered it from a Decepticon's carcass. Intricate, isn't it?"

It was. Complicated symbols adorned the metallic surface with elegant swirls and shapes. Riley realized with a start that she was looking at _Cybertronian_.

"They call it a 'Grow-Sip', I hear it can be loosely translated into 'unremovable'," her arm was roughly grabbed, "That's because it _is_."

With one swift motion Savoy plunged the tip of the device into her forearm. A stinging pain erupted from the contact, and she jerked her arm back. There was a small dot on her skin welling with blood. A puncture wound.

"Take her to a cell. We'll release her as soon as our computers are able to register the tracker's signal,"

Riley stifled a gasp as Optimus's voice swarm across her mind.

 _They_ will _find out that you helped me, and use you as bait to draw me out of hiding… and they will succeed._

They were using her as bait for Optimus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the _grocyp_ is a made up word. I just used a random letter generator. That thing was fun! :D
> 
> Who here wants to stab Savoy? *raises hand*


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A _little_ bit of fluff between the Autobot commander and our favourite female soldier ;)

The door to her cell creaked as it opened. Riley watched with wary eyes as the soldier who 'saved' her from Optimus stepped inside cautiously and locked himself in with her. In his hands he held a sandwich covered in plastic wrap and bottled water.

The man, _what was his name again? Stephen? Seth?_ handed her the food and retreated to a far corner, watching her intently. Riley instantly had a feeling that this visit was not Savoy-approved.

Not wanting to offend the soldier by turning down his gesture of good will, she unwrapped the transparent film and took a bite. Suddenly ravenous, she devoured the sandwich in several bites and downed it with gulps of cool, distilled water. It was only then when she realized she had not eaten for nearly twelve hours. No wonder she was starving.

"I thought you might be hungry,"

His tone was soft, and she found herself raising her head to meet his gaze.

"Thank… thank you," she said, her voice wavering, uncertain. She was a traitor, why was he showing her kindness?

"I know you're innocent,"

_That_ got her attention. She knew Savoy sent the soldiers away during her interrogation, but she never could have thought he didn't _inform them_ of the truth. What else was he hiding from them?

"Don't worry, Riley," his eyes were ablaze with steely determination, and she was taken aback by the pure _intensity_ of his expression, "I'm going to find a way to prove you did nothing wrong. You'll be fine. I'll get you out of here as soon as I can."

"I… I-"

" _Trust me_ ," he surged forward and suddenly his hands were clasping hers. Riley was reminded of how he had drawn her close to him just hours before, how his soft, slightly trembling voice had murmured to her, promised her that he would keep her safe, "Do you trust me, Riley?"

Their close proximity, combined with the soldier's unbreaking, searing hot stare, rendered her speechless, and she could only nod dumbly while her mind struggled to comprehend why this man she _barely knew_ was treating her with such… _tenderness_.

It felt wrong, but she didn't dare pull away for fear of his reaction.

"That's good," the soldier breathed, and just like that, she felt _dirty_ , as if she was somehow taking advantage of this strangely… _amiable_ soldier, "Just trust me. Everything will be alright, I promise."

A hand started to reach towards her cheek. Her heartbeat quickened, and it was all she could do not to flinch away from the unwelcome intrusion of her personal space. What was the man _doing_? Why was he-

A narrow blue beam of light shot from the wall facing the outside of the compound. Riley's eyes followed the laser as it traced a glowing red hot archway into the metallic wall, which fell forwards and onto the tiled floor of her cell with a loud clang.

Riley looked up. Piercing, sky blue optics. Red orange flames streaked across navy armour. Optimus.

The soldier stumbled back instantly, dragging Riley behind him, his face showing something akin to a mix of rage and surprise. His free hand fumbled for the walkie talkie clipped to his belt and brought it to his mouth.

Riley acted without thinking, swiftly wrenching the walkie talkie from the soldier's hand and backhanding him with it. The device came in contact with the young man's forehead with a satisfying twack and he dropped like a stone. Reaching down, she felt for a pulse. The soldier was alive, just unconscious.

"I, uh, probably shouldn't have hit him that hard," she raised her head sheepishly to look at the silent alien.

"His vital signs appear stable," the Autobot leader knelt and braced a servo against the ground for balance, "the impact has not affected his major bodily functions in any way. He should recover without repercussions."

"That's… that's good," _Yes, perfect answer. Good job, Riley._

"We should depart immediately. I have altered the security feed so as to shield my presence from your government, but any personal approaching this area would immediately be able to give away my position,"

He wanted her to go with him _again_? After what happened last time?

Savoy's voice jabbed at her once more. Jeering. Mocking. Belittling.

_You thought you were helping the alien, but all you did was lead us to it._

This was true. What normal person could possibly forget that they were _literally_ carrying a tracker around when they were on the run? Her, apparently.

_No matter how hard you try, you will always end up aiding us._

He managed to evade capture last time, but who was to say it wouldn't happen again? Scratch that, it would _definitely_ happen again. She was carrying a freaking _implant_ broadcasting her location twenty-four seven, for goodness sake!

_Whether you are willing or not, you are helping us capture that machine!_

"I can't," she burst out, "I can't go with you."

Glowing azure circles leaned closer, and suddenly she couldn't breathe. This was the first time she had been this close to Optimus Prime when she wasn't training or riding in his alternate mode, she realized with a start. Heat blossomed in her cheeks and she looked away, self conscious all of a sudden.

"Is there a reason for your inability?"

How to convince the kind-hearted, righteous mech to leave her behind and worry about his own survival? There was only one thing she could do, Riley decided. She was going to make Optimus Prime hate her.

Her eyes hardened. Years of training had taught her to hide her emotions well, and she knew without a doubt that it was better to have the Autobot lose his trust in her than to let him be apprehended just because she couldn't bear to see him regard her with contempt, which he definitely _would_ after hearing what she had to say.

"I have betrayed you before, and I will do it again," she said steadily, knowing her vital signs would show that she was telling the truth because, in a way, she _was_ , "Savoy found you because I informed him of your location. If you bring me along, you will only endanger your Autobots and yourself."

The Prime said nothing, merely lifted his free servo and placed a digit on her left cheek, gently forcing her to meet his optics. The luminous rings _examined_ her, _studied_ her, _searched_ her, leaving her breathless as she found herself subject to the most intense of stares. Never had she been so thoroughly _read_ before.

Warm air whooshed from the Autobot's vents and caressed her face before he finally spoke.

"You believe what you say to be the truth, yet it is not,"

Her mouth opened, but he shushed her by putting a digit on her lips.

"I was able to access the security footage of this compound and bore witness to your entire interrogation. You defended me, Miss Brown, even when your honour was threatened,"

His optics, brighter than anything she had ever seen, bore into hers, and she was shocked to see the deep gratitude and admiration they carried.

"So believe me when I say this, you have not done a single thing to make yourself undeserving of my trust,"

"But the tracker in my weapon-"

"Was not your fault," he stated, silencing her, "I had already known it was concealed within your weapon. It slipped my processor to remind you of its presence after the chase. The responsibility is mine."

It definitely _wasn't_ , but the crystal blue hues that hovered right before her made it hard for her to think clearly, so she wasn't going to argue with him on this point. Besides, she had another more convincing argument she could use.

"If you were watching, then you know that he microchipped me," the sentence started out completely normal. Then, as if a switch had been flicked, her semi amused smile froze and slid off her face. A sob rose up her throat as realization finally hit her, the shock from the interrogation having receded. She had been _microchipped_. Like a goshdarn _pet_. Normal microchips don't broadcast their location, but Savoy had said this… Grow Sippy thing came from Cybertronian origins, and Riley knew him long enough to know when he was telling the truth. She had been marked now. Wherever she went, there would _always_ be someone who knew where she was. This alien tech had ripped her basic privacy rights away from her and tore it to shreds. Her government no longer considered her as a living _human being_. To them, she was nothing more than a _tool_ to fulfill their needs, readily discarded after she had attained her purpose.

Her legs gave out, and Optimus barely caught her before she fell, his spark nearly splitting in agony. This was _his_ fault. _His_ careless actions had caused this innocent femme youngling to be subject to the utmost of humiliation. _Grocyp_ were only used to bind symbiotes to their masters such that the mech or femme would be able to monitor their symbionts at all times. It was a display of dominance, a means for the masters to demonstrate complete ownership over their symbiotes. To mark a _fully sentient being_ as such was a complete disregard of the being's individuality and freedom. Not even _slaves_ were treated with such disrespect.

Had he been more _careful_ , had he thought to _scan the perimeter_ before letting Miss Brown out of his vehicle mode, none of this would have happened.

There was only one thing he could do to make it up to her.

The human leaning on his servo took a shuddering breath.

"He… he microchipped me," she gasped out, "like I was some kind of _animal_. And… and he said that the… the Grow thing he implanted in me was unremovable. I… I… I just…"

Unable to bear the guilt gnawing furiously at his spark, Optimus cupped his other servo around the trembling femme's back, a voiceless attempt to plea for the human's forgiveness through their physical contact, effectively caging the teen between his servos. As the human's shudders ceased minutely, he lifted his thumb digit and, after a moment of hesitation, carefully ran it down her spine, similar to how one would comfort a distressed sparkling. When the human showed no signs of discomfort at his actions, he repeated the motion, not entirely sure whether the act was meant to ease the femme's nerves or his own.

"The human was incorrect," he whispered to the now limp figure, still stroking her back gently, " _Grocyp_ does not translate to 'unremovable', but rather 'difficult to remove'. Removing it may be problematic, but it can be done. Our Chief Medical Officer Ratchet is more than capable of completing such a feat."

A digit tucked itself under the human's chin, lifting it slowly. Green eyes met cerulean optics.

"I swear to you by my honour as an Autobot, Miss Brown. I shall do everything in my power to ensure the removal of the _grocyp_ from your frame."

Eyes blinked.

"Come with me, Miss Brown. I will escort you to Ratchet-"

"NO!"

Heart beating violently, Riley squirmed out of the Autobot's grasp, missing how optics dimmed briefly with hurt. Her shoulders felt strangely cold and empty at the absence of his warm metal pressing against her skin.

"If I go with you," one hand squeezed the other tightly to control her conflicting emotions, to shut up the voice screaming at her to _go with him go with him GO WITH HIM YOU IDIOT_ , "then they can track you through me."

Didn't he see? Didn't he understand that she was a danger to him?

Besides, it was _her_ fault Savoy found them. _Her_ mistake for forgetting to remove the tracker which was in _her_ EMP gun. The _grocyp_ was her own responsibility to bear and hers alone. It was completely unfair to make Optimus, who had done nothing but accommodate her this whole time, risk himself to solve _her_ problem.

_IT'S NOT FAIR TO MAKE HIM SUFFER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING I DID_ , she snarled at the annoying voice, which fell silent at once.

The Autobot reached for her, then, as if having second thoughts, drew back his servo. She ignored the pang of disappointment that raced through her.

"The _grocyp_ requires seventy two of your Earth hours to integrate itself within its host's frame before it starts to supply information about its host. Thus, our location would not be exposed until more than seventy hours after our departure. There is an eighty four point six percent chance that we would have successfully extracted the _grocyp_ by then,"

His tone was neutral, but she could hear his hidden plea.

The voice was back, nagging at her, telling her that _Optimus said it's okay so it's definitely okay so can you please go with him please please please…_

"If you cannot… get it out, then you _must_ leave me three hours before it activates. Even if you don't, I'll run away," she waited a few seconds before hesitantly adding, "…sir."

Cobalt circles burned into her eyes, and she could feel that the Autobot leader was undoubtedly _not happy_ with this arrangement, but he inclined his great helm reluctantly.

"Very well," he gracefully rose to his pedes, "if that is what it would take to persuade you, then I shall… abandon you should the situation require it."

With a series of whirs and clicks, the Autobot's armour swiveled around and folded into a familiar big rig. The driver's door opened.

"No, stop…" a feeble cry caused Riley to spin around. The soldier had woken up and was staring at her beseechingly, as if demanding to know why she hadn't run off screaming and alerted everyone of the dangerous alien parked right outside her cell.

"I… I'm sorry, em, Sebastian," she winced as the soldier's expression turned to that of a wounded puppy. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she hurried to the Peterbilt's side and climbed in.

* * *

His right forehead throbbed painfully as he struggled to make sense of his surroundings. Through the fuzziness of his head he could barely pick up a series of clanking and hissing emanating a certain distance from where he lay. He groaned quietly. What happened? Why did his head _hurt_ so much? The last thing he could remember was talking to Riley-

_Clanking_ and _hissing_.

His eyes flew open.

The _monster_ was still there, having just finished the transformation that disguised it as a harmless vehicle. The monster that took his Riley, scarred her, and framed her, causing even her _country_ to turn on her. He gritted his teeth and swore that one day, he was going to _kill_ this hunk of scrap metal.

But wait, what was Riley doing? Was she… she _couldn't_ be… why on earth was she walking _willingly_ towards the alien? No, there must be some sort of explanation. Riley was _loyal_ and righteous. She wouldn't just _betray_ her government, she wouldn't just betray _him_ … would she?

"No, stop…" Even then he tried to convince himself that this was some kind of mistake. Riley _wasn't_ about to ditch him behind and leave with that… alien, it just _looked_ like it. It was just his mind playing tricks on him.

Then Riley turned to face him, and his wishful thinking evaporated like thin mist, for her slightly apologetic expression showed not a single bit of regret or shame.

Her next words drove a sledgehammer straight into his heart.

"I… I'm sorry, em, Sebastian,"

His name was Steve.

He watched as she walked away from him, towards the _alien_ , taking with her parts of his splintered, shredded heart. Each step she took was like a stab in the gut, sending slivers of agony in its wake.

No. No! The alien was _not_ taking her again. Not if he had anything to say about it. He pushed himself upright, fighting back the wave of nausea that threatened to overturn him. She was so close, a few steps and he would be able to reach her.

A step forward. Overwhelming dizziness. He rested his forehead against his palm and grimaced. A car door slammed.

No wait wait wait-

His legs gave out and he crumpled to the ground just as the semi tore out of the compound with a deafening screech.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason my heart is breaking for Steve… is that normal?


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riley is tired and frustrated and confused. Optimus has to deal with it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thank you to [Arabis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arabis/pseuds/arabis) for letting me use her idea about Creator Protocols! Go check out her [_Signature_ series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1560772), it's REALLY GOOD! Her Sam-Ratchet scenes are _the best_ I've ever read and she's pretty much one of the most talented fanfic writers I've ever known

_The semi pulled to a stop and Riley hopped out eagerly, a wide grin stretching her face at the sight of several familiar-looking vehicles._

_Prime transformed, causing the other Autobots to shift out of alt mode as well, filling the air with the tale-tell hissing and clanking that always accompanied their transformations._

_Riley's heart lifted. There were so many of them! Cute, energetic Bumblebee was here, so was the grouchy but soft sparked Autobot medic, as well as Sideswipe, Wheeljack, Jolt, Mirage… This was brilliant! She_ knew _the human race was incapable of taking down these amazing, powerful beings, she_ knew it _!_

_Everyone was happy, either greeting Prime or chatting amongst themselves casually. For a minute Riley almost forgot that they were currently being hunted down by her government._

_Then everything went wrong._

_EMP guns fired, and bouts of laughter became cries of pain. Huge, iron nets dropped from helicopters. Colourful body armour twisted and jerked. Cables snaked between seams of armour, digging hard into the sensitive protoforms underneath. Liquid nitrogen covered all metal surfaces with a chilly white mist._

_"NO!" Her lips were parted in horror and she was screaming, sobbing, shrieking uncontrollably when she caught the stunningly blue optics of the Autobot leader._

_Transfixed, she stared unblinking at the red and blue titan, waiting for him to struggle, to fight back, to pretty much do_ anything at all _, but he didn't, merely fixed her with that soul-piercing gaze of his, looking at her somberly as a blast to his chest brought him to his knees._

_Trembling, she turned to face Savoy, who was standing behind her with a satisfied smile. Her horror turned to rage in seconds._

_"HOW DARE YOU?" she screeched at the man standing before her, "HOW COULD YOU DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS? THEY'RE ALIVE, YOU HEARTLESS MONSTER!"_

_"Now there, Miss Brown," Savoy retorted calmly, "who's the monster? Me? Or the one who led me to them?"_

_Her anger deflated like a popped balloon, leaving her drained and shaky. Lifting her arm to eye level, she unfurled her clenched fists to reveal what she had been holding the whole time._

_It was a tracking device._

_In startling realization, she registered that humanity was_ more than capable _of subduing the Autobots. All her government needed was their location._

_The location which she had unmistakably provided._

_She screamed._

"Miss Brown,"

_Prime was calling for her and oh gosh, he actually sounded_ concerned _for her. Why on EARTH was he worrying about_ her _when HE was the one being taken down like a freaking_ animal _?_

"Miss Brown!"

_Something was holding her in place and she couldn't move no matter how hard she tried. Desperate fingers clawed frantically at her chest as she bucked wildly, thrashing, straining to free herself…_

"Miss Brown, WAKE UP!"

Eyes snapped open, pupils dilated in fear and confusion.

Her panicked, darting gaze landed on the sturdy black leather-coated steering wheel in front of her, and she forced herself to focus on the Autobot insignia engraved in the middle, willing her breathing to slow down.

_Relax. Focus on the sigil. You're in Optimus's cab. It was only a dream. The Autobots are fine._

At least, she hoped they were.

"The dramatic increase in levels of cortisol in your bloodstream indicates that you are highly stressed. Is something bothering you, Miss Brown?"

She shuddered, still hearing the whine of tortured gears, the dreadful scraping of metal against concrete, the Autobots' screams…

Then she was fumbling with the seat belt Optimus had undoubtedly put around her when she was tossing and turning in her sleep to keep her from hurting herself. She had gotten the driver's door halfway open before Optimus finally reacted, slamming the door shut with such vigour that she lost her balance and tumbled backwards into the leather seats, landing in an ungraceful heap. A seat belt flew out of its holder and wound itself around her body, clicking shut with finality. Riley had a feeling that this time, the seat belt would not allow itself to be released as easily as before.

* * *

Millions of vorns as a Prime meant that Optimus was used to quite a number of situations. He was used to Decepticons lunging at him, intent on taking his life. He was used to being the centre of attention to every single mech in the room, each one willing to die for him if he were to request it. After being on Earth for nearly five years, he was even used to having beings significantly smaller than his species strode right up to him without the slightest indication of fear and blame him for all every problem they encountered (one specific human came to mind).

He, however, was not used to humans trying to jump out of his cab while he was travelling at sixty-one point seven miles per hour.

When he had felt fingers meddling with the latch on his door, his processor had frozen for a split second, unable to comprehend the rationale behind such unexpected behaviour. After all, why would the femme wish to open the door of a moving vehicle?

Then the human moved, and he understood her motive with a start. His spark just about lept from its chamber in agitation, flooding his visual display with warning messages and triggering reflex subroutines to initiate a full cabin lockdown. The ajar door slammed shut and locked automatically, while seat belts ensured that his passenger was strapped down securely.

With the human's safety no longer in immediate concern, he turned his attention inward, starting to dismiss the numerous protocols that had popped up on his HUD, each one demanding to be activated to better protect the sparkling he was watching over. Despite his dismissals, his Creator protocols nagged at him insistently, urging him to pull over, transform, and place the sparkling within the safety of his chest armour. He paid them no mind, cataloguing the time and details of the error into his data logs for Ratchet to examine after they have been reunited, and focused on the human inside his cabin.

"I am currently travelling at over sixty miles per hour. Attempting to exit my cabin at such speeds would undoubtedly cause substantial damage to your frame and, in severe cases, possibly offline you. Why would you endanger yourself in such a foolish manner?"

Her respiratory rates were still exceeding their normal range, a fact that concerned him. The human's fists were tightly clenched, and her increased heartbeat informed Optimus that she was highly distressed. His Creator protocols flared to life once more, prompting him to gather the upset sparkling into his servos and soothe her by holding her close to his spark. Once again, he overruled the protocols' requests to be activated and catalogued this incident in his data logs as well. (The error in his processor was becoming most worrying. Clearly, there were no sparklings present in the periphery. What could possibly be setting off his protective Creator protocols?)

"Please, sir-"

" _Optimus_ ," he interjected firmly.

She blinked, startled, "Sir?"

"Since I am no longer your higher-ranking officer, there is no need for formality. You may refer to me as Optimus,"

"Okay… _Optimus_ ," she winced slightly at how weird she sounded, "Please, I can't stay here with you. I'm obviously no help _at all_ , and my staying here would only threaten your safety."

"You doubt my ability to safeguard your life while preserving my own?"

"What? _No_! Well, yes… wait, no, NO!" her face burned with mortification, "No, I just… I… I don't _want_ you to, em, no wait, I didn't mean it like that! Just… ugh! How do I say it… why are you helping me anyways? Humans suck."

"Not all members of your species are as you described, Miss Brown," he reminded her, "You risked your life for mine. I am in your debt. As such, the least I can do is to ensure your well-being while assisting in the removal of the _grocyp_ from your frame."

She stared open-mouthed at the steering wheel for a few seconds, slowly digesting the Cybertronian's words. It wasn't every day that the _leader of the Autobots_ told you that he was indebted to you, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

So she just blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"It's _Riley_." The semi's engine stalled briefly in confusion at her outburst, and she continued, "I mean, you asked me to call you by your first name, it's only fair that I ask the same of you."

"By the way," she added quickly before Optimus could interrupt, "you saved me first. My third mission. Berlin. The Decepticon singled me out and fired. You jumped in front of me before I got hit and told me not to thank you afterwards. If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have been able to warn you about the ambush, so… I guess that makes us even. But then you also busted me out of that cell. If anything, _I_ owe _you_ , not the other way around."

The cabin descended into silence as Optimus contemplated his response. This femme was so remarkably, _frustratingly_ selfless that he found himself at a loss for words. After several seconds Riley's seat belt tightened by a margin.

"Very well," he said eventually, "if you truly believe that you are indebted to I, here is how I would like you to repay me."

Riley groaned internally. She already had a fairly good idea of what the Prime was going to say next.

"Stay with me. Allow me to protect you from potential harm. Do not attempt to escape again,"

_Grant me the opportunity to redeem myself for wronging you_ , he added silently.

The femme wiggled uncomfortably, staring at her hands determinedly for several breems, her expression fiercely contemplative. Finally, she looked up with a defeated sigh and nodded.

"Okay,"

She wasn't sure if she'd imagined it, but the semi seemed to relax at once, the tension in the truck's stance gradually slipping away. Then she blinked, her brain finally catching on the absurdity of her trying to read the _body language_ of a _semi_. She must have been more sleep-deprived than she'd thought. Then again, considering to jump off a moving vehicle at highway speeds was a major indicator of her questionable mental state as well.

"So, um, where are we going?" she asked, shaking her head slightly to clear her mind.

"I have yet to successfully contact my Autobots. Until then, we are mainly avoiding detection," the Prime replied.

Riley gasped and straightened up as a sudden thought struck her.

"Oh my gosh, this communication disruptor! Savoy made us set one up to prevent you from asking for help. It's installed three streets away from where we planned the ambush so that you wouldn't be able to detect it when you were driving up to us, supposed to block all frequencies except our own," she seemed to wilt into herself. "Sorry," she added guiltily after a moment of thought.

"Do not apologize for your superior's decision," he told her firmly, "Despite what you might think, you are not at fault,"

"Yes, I am!" she burst out, wringing her hands in distress, "I helped set that thing up, and I didn't say a thing when Savoy told us we had to attack you. I should have done something, spoken up, maybe stated my discontent, but I didn't! Gosh, I was fully prepared to actually _carry out_ the ambush-"

"Yet you did not," Optimus refuted calmly, silencing her at once, "Instead of following your superiors' orders, like most of your comrades have done, you chose to help me, an alien to your race."

The human did not speak, but her conflicted expression informed Optimus that she was still berating herself.

"Riley," his tone was gentle, and he watched as the femme's eyes widened at being called by her first name, "The current situation is not your doing. You must not blame yourself, for there was nothing you could have done."

A slim metal tendril snaked out from beneath the steering wheel and stroked her cheek carefully, slowly tucking a curl of stray hair behind her ear. The action was simple, almost effortless, but Optimus could never have guessed the effect it would have on the human.

At this unexpected display of kindness, Riley finally broke down, the guilt and stress that had built up over the past days breaking through the mental walls that she had built up and sweeping her off her feet. That, combined with the bone-crushing _relief_ from the knowledge that Optimus didn't blame her for what happened, was too much, _way_ too much for her to handle. And so she just sat there and cried, pinning the tendril flush against her chest as she hugged it tightly, resting her forehead on the smooth metal as the tip of the appendage rubbed soothing circles into her upper back. It was a curious feeling, being comforted by a long metal wire, but she was too mentally drained to care.

"Can you direct me to the location of the disruptor you spoke of?" he asked once she had calmed down.

"Yeah, sure, of course." After letting her emotions loose, the human's eyes were filled with a newfound determination to _make things right_.

Optimus was not mad at her, they were going to find the rest of the Autobots, and the _grocyp_ was going to be removed from her body.

Everything was going to be okay.

* * *

Savoy would like to think that he and Harold Attinger shared a mutually-beneficial relationship. Attinger gave him the means and opportunity to take revenge on the aliens for killing his sister, while he helped Attinger to get rid of the aliens threatening his country.

This thought was all that kept him from turning around, stalking out of Attinger's office and slamming the door behind him.

"I gave you _one job_ ," the man spat, "Tag the girl, _wait_ until the tracker activates, _then_ let her go, and what do you do?"

Savoy remained silent, arms held behind his back respectfully as he stood before the wooden desk covered with piles of documents.

"You let her escape before we could ensure the tracker would activate. Why? Because nobody thought to patrol the area where _our largest chance at taking down the aliens is kept_!"

Hands slammed down hard on the desk, and only Savoy's strict training kept him from flinching.

"I don't know why I put up with you," Attinger sighed, bracing his palm against his forehead wearily.

_Neither do I_ , Savoy thought irritably. He _did_ know, actually. All the men he'd approached before offered him revenge on the aliens in exchange for his services. None of them came close to fulfilling their promises. None of them, except Attinger.

_Don't you worry, Lily. I will avenge you soon._

"You mentioned something about a soldier?"

"Yes, one of the soldiers stopped by to visit her. He witnessed the entire escape,"

"That could be a problem," Attinger slowly leaned back against his chair, "Tell him that the girl was carrying out a mission we sent her on. She was following orders to obtain the location of the aliens' hideout."

"I don't understand," Savoy's eyes narrowed, "What's wrong with letting him know the truth? Why are we lying-"

"Soldiers are remarkably loyal to each other. If we tell them that one of them has betrayed us, they will feel angry and resentful, no doubt. But when we send them out to capture the girl, some of them, especially those close to the girl, might be swayed to let her go 'for old times' sake'," a small, satisfied smile started to form on Attinger's face, "However, if we tell them that the girl is _loyal_ , and is currently _risking herself_ to perform a highly dangerous mission…"

"They will do anything to get her back," Savoy finished. It was so simple, yet so brilliantly intricate.

"They will do _anything_ to get her back," echoed Attinger. He waved his arm in a shooing motion, "Go inform the soldier then. There's not much we can do at this point except wait for the tracker to activate."

_Revenge is coming Lily, be patient._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmmm… he chalked it up to an 'error' now, did he? Oh, Oppy, that's _adorable_ …
> 
> So, they're finally on a first-name basis! (Took me long enough, it's already been seven chapters into the story and _this_ is the first time Optimus said Riley's first name!)
> 
> By the way, I couldn't find Savoy's sister's name, so she's called Lily now. (Get it? _James_ and _Lily_? Heh, I mean, I know they're a _couple_ as opposed to being _siblings_ , but I couldn't help myself)


	8. Chapter 8

They ended up stopping at a public restroom so that she could freshen up before continuing their journey, mainly so that she _didn't_ look as if she had just spent the last fifteen minutes bawling her eyes out. After thoroughly rinsing her face several times, she exited the restroom feeling considerably better, automatically scanning the parking space for a familiar red and blue semi.

When none of the vehicles she saw fit that description, she frowned and checked the perimeter again, pushing down the wave of anxiety that suddenly appeared. Nothing. She searched one more time, a feeling of dread quickly settling in her gut. Instantly, she missed the Autobot leader's calm, comforting presence. It was funny how just moments before she had been planning on _leaving_ the Prime, but now that she couldn't find him, she was bombarded with feelings of hurt, terror, loss, and helplessness.

In her panic, she didn't notice the black Peterbilt roll up to her side until he _nudged_ her with his grille gently. Startled, she spun around, backing away from the unknown vehicle warily.

The semi's headlights flickered on, then off again. She blinked. An Autobot symbol appeared on the nose of the semi and disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

_Oh._

Letting out a shaky laugh in relief, she approached the vehicle, reaching out to brush his fender with her fingertips before climbing into the Peterbilt.

"You changed your colour," she said in way of explanation for her earlier reaction.

"Indeed," Optimus replied, putting a seat belt around her as he shifted into gear, "considering my previous appearance might attract unwanted attraction, I have altered the colouration of my vehicular mode in order to avoid detection."

"But _how_?" she asked before she could stop herself. Her hands flew to her mouth in embarrassment as she remembered all the times Optimus had flatly refused to share information about Cybertronian tech despite the government's efforts to persuade him. Why would he trust _her_ , of all people, with such information, given that she was just a walking liability?

"Sorry, don't answer that. I was just being stupid-"

"I do not mind indulging your curiosity, Riley," said Optimus, startling her, "you are the first human to show interest in a part Cybertronian anatomy that is not related to weaponry. As such, you shall be the first and only human to whom I will share the following knowledge. Do you promise not to repeat the subsequent conversation to any other human being you may encounter?"

She blinked, stunned by the Autobot's words. He was actually offering to tell her about _Cybertronian technology_. Why would he do that? What could she have possibly done to deserve such an honour?

As if sensing her unspoken question, Optimus curled a tendril around her right wrist, causing her to look up at his dashboard.

"I _trust_ you, Riley Brown," he said, his tone equal parts sincere and gentle. The five simple words caused Riley's heart to thump wildly in her chest and her throat to feel strangely tight. Optimus Prime was on the run from humans, unable to contact his Autobots, and yet _he trusted her_. She was merely a burden to the Autobot leader- her mistake had almost caused him to be captured- and yet _he trusted her_. She was just a human, and yet _he trusted her_.

He _trusted_ her.

"I- wow… okay…" Riley stammered, taken aback by the honesty and intensity of his declaration. Her left hand played nervously with the living bracelet coiled around her other wrist, fiddling with the head of the tendril absentmindedly until she finally registered what _exactly_ it was that she was touching.

She dropped the metal as if it had burned her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!" she yelped, untangling her arm from the wire before jerking away, bracing herself for the admonishment that was sure to come.

Instead of replying, Optimus manoeuvred the cable until the tip of it just grazed the back of Riley's hand. At his silent invitation, Riley hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on the wire, watching as it slowly wound itself around her forearm.

"What _is_ this exactly?" she asked, brushing her thumb over a complicated but elegant symbol etched into the cable before lifting it closer for inspection. Suddenly remembering the Autobot's earlier words, she added quickly, "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"They are referred to as-" here Optimus's radio let out a series of metallic whirs and clicks that Riley could only assume to be Cybertronian, "a rough translation would be 'sparkling cables'. They serve as a stand-in for servos whenever a Creator is in vehicular mode so as to better comfort and care for any sparklings within their cabins."

"Wow," whispered Riley. She couldn't help feeling incredibly honoured and a bit touched. It was clear from Optimus's tone that a Cybertronian's 'sparkling cables', as he had called them, were not randomly shown to anyone they met. That Optimus had let her _touch_ his meant that he viewed her as more than just a _regular_ human.

Her heart fluttered gently at that thought.

* * *

Optimus Prime had not expected to enjoy having a human wrapped up safely within his sparkling cable.

A Cybertronian's sparkling cables _were_ , in fact, extremely private, which was one of the main reasons Optimus had felt certain… reservations when his spark had first urged him to utilize his own to reassure the human in his cab. Not many had seen his sparkling cables before, and even Ratchet, whom he trusted with his spark, had only seen them once during a thorough health checkup. Needless to say, the notion that he would one day show them to a _human_ had never crossed his processor.

Not that he was complaining now.

Riley's reaction was considerably unexpected as well. Optimus had initially been worried that the human may be slightly fearful or wary at being approached by something so completely _alien_ to her kind. To his surprise, not only did she appear completely at ease with his sparkling cable, but she also seemed to enjoy interacting with it as well, even going as far as _deliberately_ embracing it the first time he used it.

Using sparkling cables on a completely different species was unheard of throughout Cybertronian history. Yet, right now, with the small human wrapped up safely within his sparkling cable, Optimus could not bring himself to say that the sensation was at all unpleasant. Rather, it felt suitable and natural, and… _right_.

He watched in content as the femme's thumb rubbed once again over the Cybertronian sigil that represented his designation, her curious eyes wide with awe as she admired the delicate strokes and elegant curves etched into the side of his sparkling cable. His spark swelled upon knowing that despite not knowing Cybertronian at all, the human had _recognized_ his name, and his placated Creator protocols blinked lazily at the corner of his HUD.

His Creator protocols.

The same protocols which had been malfunctioning ever since he found out of the humans' betrayal.

He understood now.

It had all been caused by an error: the intense urge to implement his sparkling cables, the gratification of having successfully comforted Riley, all due to an error in his processor, the mere results of his faulty Creator protocols.

He was foolish to have believed otherwise.

Suddenly the inquisitive, exploratory touch of the human on his sparkling cables became foreign and intrusive. Optimus quickly withdrew, his cable snaking back into its housing underneath his steering wheel, his spark shifting uncomfortably with guilt at the femme's confused, slightly hurt expression.

Sensing the need to break the awkward tension hanging within the cabin, Optimus hastily thought of a suitable justification of his earlier action.

"We have arrived at the coordinates you provided,"

Riley's eyes widened in realization and understanding before she nodded, thankfully accepting his explanation. The driver's seat propped open and she jumped out, hurrying over to an inconspicuous box labelled _Dangerous Military Equipment. Do NOT Touch._

Her features twisted into a grimace as she realized something, "Crap, I don't have the keys with me. Can you, uh…"

She mimicked changing her hand into a gun and firing at the box, turning around to glance at Optimus's alt form with a wry smile.

"That would deflate the purpose of altering my vehicle mode to avoid recognition, would it not?"

"Yeah, you're right," Riley replied absentmindedly, lifting the box to peer into the keyhole, "I wonder if I could…"

A plain black bobby pin was removed from her hair, causing a stray lock to brush against her cheek. She paid it no mind, jabbing the bobby pin into the narrow opening and carefully jiggling it around until a soft, barely audible _click_ was heard. Grinning triumphantly, she faced the Prime once more, brandishing a compact device in her right hand.

"Got it," the box was carelessly discarded as Riley climbed back into the semi. Optimus made sure to scan the disruptor for any trackers- he was not about to make the same mistake twice.

"And… _there_ ,"

There was a sudden _lifting_ sensation and Optimus could feel his communication channels opening back up, no longer blocked by the disruptor. He grimly noted that he had not even noticed the block in place up until that moment, irrefutable proof that the _grocyp_ was not the only Cybertronian technology the humans had reverse-engineered from his kind.

With that thought in his processor, he broadcasted a swift warning to his Autobots across all communication channels, both private and public, flagging his message with _urgent_ and _top priority_ signifiers.

_::Calling all Autobots. We are under targeted attack. Cease all contact with humans::_

Instantly his communication channels burst to life.

_::Optimus, thank the Allspark! Where have you been? Your comm went dark for almost two solar cycles!::_

_::Nice to have you back, Prime! We were starting to get worried::_

_::Sensei, you have been missed in your absence::_

_::Autobots::_ Optimus had never been more relieved to hear from his team _::The humans have turned hostile. Rendezvous with me at these coordinates as soon as possible::_

Riley shifted in her seat, uncertainly tracing the seat belt strapped across her chest. Without waiting for her to open her mouth, Optimus granted her unspoken request, switching over to his external communication systems such that Riley could hear their conversation.

"…what do you mean, Prime?"

"HA! I friggin _knew it_. Pit-spawned organics can't be trusted. Should have blown them away when we had the chance…"

" _Crosshairs_ ," Optimus reprimanded tersely, hyperaware of how Riley's respiratory rates skyrocketed at the sniper's comment.

"What? It's true, ain't it? Friggin squishies turned on us now that the 'Cons are on the down-low- _scrap_ ,"

"Crosshairs, report," Optimus commanded, his tone barely masking his unease.

"Bumblebee, Ratchet, Sideswipe and I were about to leave the human base. Would have gotten out too, if _Nurse_ over here hadn't _insisted_ on packing all his fancy equipment,"

"I'll have you know that the _fancy equipment_ you spoke lightly of could very well save you from offlining someday,"

"What of the others?" interrupted Optimus before Crosshairs could retort.

"We were on patrol when we received your comm, Prime, now headed directly towards the provided coordinates,"

"Understood,"

"Autobots, lower your weapons and step back inside the base. This is your last warning. Comply, or we will resort to force," a soldier spoke from a loudspeaker in the background.

"Optimus…"

"I am en route to your location," he replied, disregarding human traffic laws as his speedometer pushed past the current speed limit, "Autobots, do not engage. These humans are merely following orders, they are not to be harmed. Resort to violence only as a last resort,"

"Kinda hard not to use violence when we've got _several dozen EMP guns aimed at our spark chambers_ , Prime,"

There was no way Optimus could ignore the way Riley's fingers tightened around the edge of her seat upon hearing Sideswipe's words. Putting on another burst of speed, Optimus waited until the Cemetery Wind base was in sight before addressing his passenger briefly.

"I am going to transform. Stay still and tuck your limbs close to your frame,"

Before Riley could fully register the Prime's words, the world flew apart around her. Heart beating harshly against her chest, she curled up into a tiny ball and watched as a cascade of metal platings shifted and spun from all directions, encircling her in a kaleidoscope of metallic gears and wiring. It was breathtaking and awe-inspiring and so magnificently intricate and complex that she would definitely have enjoyed the experience if the situation were completely different.

Her seat belt snapped open, her seat tipped backwards, and… _something_ gently tugged her backwards until the plating in front of her shifted, closing her in.

Instinct kicked her age-old fear of darkness into overdrive, sending her into a flurry of wild panic before she realized that she was not, in fact, in complete darkness. Trying to pinpoint the source of the warm, bluish glow illuminating the entire room, she stood up unsteadily and turned around, curiously noting that the ceiling of the room was so low she could probably touch it if she reached upwards.

What she saw took her breath away.

A gigantic glowing ball of light was floating in the middle of the room, bathing smooth metallic walls in a soft bluish hue. Arcs of energy occasionally licked outwards briefly before returning to the centre, giving Riley the impression that she was in the presence of a brightly burning blue star- the hottest and most massive among stars. It was so beautiful and _surreal_ that Riley could have sworn it was not from this world. _Nothing_ in the universe could compare to such beauty, such _perfection_.

"Soldiers, stand down! We mean you no harm," Optimus's authoritative voice seemed to reverberate across the walls of the room, "We are your allies. There is no need for hostility."

_There's no way they're gonna back down_ , thought Riley in dismay.

The entire room moved without warning and she bit back a scream as she was slammed harshly into a wall. There was a flash of light, and the next thing Riley knew, she was being… _hugged_ firmly against the glowing ball of energy as tendrils of light enveloped her chest and abdomen.

"Wait, what-" gasped Riley, too stunned by the sudden development to react. The room moved again, and Riley finally realized the light's motive: it was trying to protect her from harm.

"Th… thanks," she hesitantly told the light, which hummed soothingly in response.

A faint glimmer on her right caught her attention, and she wiggled in the light's hold until she could just make out the outline of an elegant, diamond-shaped object. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognized the artifact as the Matrix of Leadership, suspended in mid-air by some unknown force.

Optimus guarded the Matrix by concealing it in his spark chamber.

That would mean that…

"Ohmygosh," Riley blurted, feeling lightheaded at the implications of her discovery. How could she have not made the connection before? She was in the Prime's spark chamber! _She was touching the Prime's spark!_ It was his life force, his _soul_ , and she was _touching_ it. Her disgusting, grubby, unworthy hands were in contact with _Optimus Prime's spark_.

As if sensing her distress, the spark's humming intensified, and a tendril of light reached out to tuck a curl behind her ear, lightly caressing her cheek in the process. Her skin tingled pleasantly where the energy touched it, and she gradually relaxed, reassured by the spark's steady, calming glow.

Plating shifted, and light spilt into the spark chamber. Riley looked up to see a servo reaching towards her.

The spark retracted itself from her, giving her a gentle push towards the chamber's opening. Riley blinked and climbed onto the servo, letting Optimus carry her outside.

Half a dozen mechs were standing in a loose semi-circle around them. _Sideswipe_ , Riley named internally, _as well as Ratchet, Crosshairs, Hound, Drift, Mirage, and Bumblebee_. This meant all the Autobots got out, thank goodness.

There was a tense silence, and Riley realized that everyone was staring at her. After several tension-filled seconds, Sideswipe spoke up.

"What the Pit was _that_ doing in your spark chamber, Prime?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oppy is still oblivious. Don't worry, he'll find out soon enough
> 
> By the way, since this story is canon-compliant up until the end of DOTM, the Autobots that died in the first three films will, sadly, not be in this fic (I also excluded the Wreckers since I have no idea how to write them)
> 
> Just for clarification, the ideas of _grocyp_ and sparkling cables belong to _me_ , but my description of Creator protocols were both inspired by and belong to Arabis
> 
> And _yes_ , Riley thwarted a military-grade lock with a bobby pin. Why is this possible? Because I said so :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it, Arabis! Because of your encouragement, I gritted my teeth together and forced myself to write, and I did it! I completed this chapter! So thank you for your help! :D
> 
> Phew, I'm not kidding when I say this chapter fought me _every bit of the way_. It just _did not_ want to be written. Ah well, here it is now :)
> 
> To compensate for my three-month hiatus, I made this chapter slightly longer than my normal chapters. Enjoy!

"Autobots," Optimus began, "this is Riley Brown. It was she who informed me of the humans' hostility towards our kind. She is an ally."

"So were the rest of the humans, less than a breem ago," Sideswipe pointed out, his optics narrowed, "how do we know she's not going to turn us in the instance we let our guard down?"

A flicker of defensiveness sprang from his spark. Optimus had to resist the urge to let his battle mask slide into place.

"Sideswipe is correct," said Mirage, "Look, my Prime, the human is still in uniform. We cannot trust her."

"I agree with you two," drawled Crosshairs, lazily drawing a gun from subspace and aiming it at Riley, "better kill it then, just to be safe."

"Enough," Optimus warned, raising his free servo to shield Riley just in case. It was getting increasingly more difficult to override his defence system's requests to come online, "She was on my squadron for more than three stellar cycles. Her loyalty is not to be doubted."

Back when NEST was first established, soldiers were divided into teams of ten to facilitate communication and training. Each Autobot led and trained with two. There were twelve teams in total, with a tally of a hundred and twenty soldiers, led by Optimus, Bumblebee, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Arcee, and Jolt respectively. Every time an Autobot died, the subordinate soldiers would be divided equally among the rest.

Riley was honoured enough to have been on Optimus's team since the very beginning. She still remembered the first time she saw him transform- pieces of plating unfurling, shifting, sliding into place, an extraordinary vehicle growing into an even more impressive being. Then he knelt down to address them- Optimus _always_ lowered himself to their level, even though he was a literal thirty-two feet tall titan and they were just small, unimportant humans- and she was blown away by the dignity and humility he projected in his tone.

Each time he led them into battle, her admiration and respect for him only grew.

Then NEST was renamed into Cemetery Wind and everything changed. _Human_ commanders were appointed, and they were ordered to be more distant with the Autobots in order to 'reduce unnecessary interactions between humans and aliens'.

"I saw members of my own squad just now as well, Prime," Sideswipe's tense reply cut through her memories like a sharp knife, "I trained with them every day, trusted them to have my back when we went after Decepticons, and guess what? _My own team members pointed EMP guns at my spark chamber and threatened to offline me_ , so _don't_ expect me to warm up to one of yours that quickly."

With that, he whirled around and skated out of the room, plunging the room into a deathly silence.

"So," said Crosshairs after a while, his gun still trained at where Riley was behind Optimus's servo, "do we kill it or not?"

" _Crosshairs_ , I said _enough_ ," rings of icy blue _burned_ as Optimus's helm swivelled to glare at the paratrooper, his tone dangerously low. Weapons systems threatened to activate as his Creator protocols recognized the danger to his sparkling, and he subconsciously pulled Riley closer to his spark, ready to defend her should the situation required it.

Riley gasped as the surface she was standing on shifted subtly, causing her to lose her balance and nearly tumble off the servo. Her sudden movement caught the attention of the being holding her, optics pinning her with such intensity that it almost frightened her.

She absently reminded herself _never_ to get on Optimus's bad side.

Thick, metallic digits curled up around her, enclosing her in a protective cage. Optimus's voice was tightly drawn when he spoke again, his displeasure and anger carefully restrained from vorns of experience.

"Autobots, leave us. I wish to speak with Ratchet in private,"

"Come on, you heard the boss, let's go," Hound placed a servo on Crosshairs's forearm, forcing him to lower his weapon. The sniper paused to give Riley a look of pure _disdain_ before stalking out of the room after Hound. Slowly, the rest of the Autobots followed, some of them occasionally shooting hostile glances at Riley as they exited.

Optimus waited until only the three of them were left in the room before relaxing minutely, raising Riley to optic level.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, rapidly scanning her form for injury.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied shakily, "just wasn't expecting them to… want to kill me."

A tense silence followed.

"You are under my protection," the Autobot leader's optics were unnaturally bright when he finally responded, his voice slightly strained, "They will know not to harm you."

A small nod from the human, accompanied by a curious glance at his shoulder plating.

"You're red and blue again," she observed, her eyes following the bright red flames as they licked and curled around his armour.

"Indeed," Optimus rumbled in amusement, all traces of tension gone instantly, "My colouration does little to conceal my identity when I am in bipedal mode, unfortunately. I did not see the need to continue my disguise."

His Creator protocols lit up cheerfully as the femme's eyes brightened with humour.

He then turned to Ratchet, who had been observing the scene with muted interest, "Ratchet, please scan Riley. Her frame has been… integrated with Cybertronian technology. I am afraid it would cause harm to her health."

_Right_ , thought Riley. In all the excitement, she had almost forgotten what Savoy had done.

An unpleasant sensation swept through her, feeling as if her cells had been dunked in ice-cold water. After a moment Ratchet's optics widened considerably in shock.

"By the Allspark…" Microseconds later Optimus received a scathing comm from his medic.

_::Why the Pit does the human have an unactivated grocyp signature in her frame?::_

_::Her government captured her after finding out she aided me. When she refused to provide my location, they forcefully implanted a grocyp in her frame in hopes of tracking me through her::_

_::PIT-SPAWNED GLITCHES… she is but a youngling to their kind!::_

Riley shifted uneasily in her seat on Optimus's palm, looking between the two silent mechs, "What is it? What's wrong with me?"

Ratchet just let out a string of angry sounding Cybertronian.

Starting to get worried, she turned to Optimus, who brushed his thumb digit down her back reassuringly.

"It is nothing. Ratchet is merely… troubled to have learnt what transpired during your interrogation," his tone was uncharacteristically dark, causing Riley to blink at him in surprise.

"He's upset about the _grocyp_? But it's essentially just a high-tech tracker, can't he just… take it out?"

Ratchet stiffened, staring at Optimus incredulously, "You _haven't told her_?"

Optimus's faceplate betrayed nothing, but Riley had the tiniest inkling that he was extremely uncomfortable about the direction this conversation was heading.

"Telling her achieves nothing," he answered, his tone perfectly neutral, "I do not wish to cause her unnecessary distress,"

Yep, definitely uncomfortable. And anything that made _Optimus Prime_ of all people uncomfortable would definitely make her nervous.

"Tell me what?" she asked tentatively. Neither mech answered, and Optimus's solemn expression did nothing to quell her anxiety.

"Sir- Optimus? Tell me, please," she tried again, staring at him imploringly, "Please, whatever it is, just tell me."

His dermas tightened (she wasn't sure how it could be done given that he was made of _metal_ , but he managed it) and for a moment she thought he wasn't going to tell her, but then he shuttered his optics in resignation.

"Very well, if you insist," he said slowly, "Be warned, the following information may upset you greatly."

_Ohhh boy_. _Here we go_.

She swallowed her nervousness and nodded, "Okay, I'm ready."

Optimus let out a deep ex-vent and began.

" _Grocyp_ are used to bind symbiotes to their masters. They allow Cybertronians to monitor _everything_ regarding their symbiotes- vitals, sensory input, even thoughts and emotions. The ability to track locations is merely one of its functions,"

"Sensory input… they can see through my eyes?" Horror bubbled within her, her head spinning, spinning, spinning, her line of sight distorted and blurred as she wrenched her head from side to side ferociously, determined not to allow her government _any_ chance of recognizing the building she was in.

"I'm… I'm a security risk!," she gabbled desperately, panicked, "You need to get rid of me! They might see where we are! I can't… I can't…"

A warm digit on her shoulder cut off her rambling.

"Do not fret, little one," Optimus told her, his touch both grounding and comforting, "As I have said before, the _grocyp_ requires seventy-two of your Earth hours to integrate itself within your frame before it begins to supply information to your government. As only four hours and twenty-nine minutes has passed since implantation, there is sufficient time for removal before it activates."

_It's okay, it's okay. Calm down. Nothing bad is going to happen._ Her heart was beginning to slow down when another thought struck her.

"Wait, but then… why is Ratchet so angry about it?"

Another deep ex-vent before Optimus continued.

"Cybertronians display complete dominance and ownership over their symbiotes by injecting them with their _grocyp_. The implantation of _grocyp_ to a frame is considered highly invasive and intrusive. Thus, all Cybertronians are strictly forbidden to inject their _grocyp_ in beings displaying even the most basic level of sentience as such an act would violate the beings' autonomy and individuality."

"Even Decepticons obey this rule. To this day, not a single Cybertronian has marked another sentient being with their _grocyp_ , not even slaves would be marked with such an insult," Ratchet snarled, "Those fools have no idea what they had done."

_Ah_ , then they were upset about the _implications_ of the _grocyp_ , not because something in her body could very likely tip the government off about their location and get them all killed.

This didn't bother her, she told herself firmly, it didn't bother her that she possibly registered as something _non-sentient_ on their sensors. It didn't matter that _her government_ , _for which she'd risked her life_ for the past three years was the one that did this to her. It didn't matter because Savoy was just trying to track her (and see through her eyes and read her thoughts) and he ~~definitely~~ ~~probably~~ maybe didn't know about all this when he injected the _grocyp_ into her and Ratchet was going to get it out anyway so this definitely did not bother her, not even a little bit-

"Riley,"

Her head jerked up, heart thumping wildly in her chest as she fought to control her laboured breathing. Optimus was staring at her, optics shining with unabated concern and another emotion she could not clearly identify.

"I'm fine," she forced a smile, though Optimus's expression told her that she wasn't going to be fooling anyone anytime soon, "really, I am."

She wasn't lying. Apart from the hollow, sinking feeling in her gut, she felt perfectly healthy.

"I'm fine," she repeated, mainly to herself, "and you said you can get it out, right?"

Another scan swept through her.

"It should be no challenge for me, were you _Cybertronian_ ," Ratchet answered gruffly, "I have never attempted a removal procedure on a _human_ before."

His gaze turned sharp, "How long has it been since you last refuelled?"

"Um…"

"Primus help me… _another_ idiot with a tendency to self-harm," Ratchet muttered under his breath before glaring at the chagrined human.

" _You_ ," he growled, jabbing a digit towards Optimus's chest plate, "take your charge"- Riley cringed as the digit travelled to her- "and _feed her_. I am not treating her until I know for _certain_ her blood sugar will not plummet while undergoing surgery."

Optimus folded into alt mode quicker than Riley had ever seen him do, dropping her neatly into the driver's seat. As the semi peeled out of the building Riley could hear a resounding shout from the medic.

"And make sure she eats _healthily_ , slaggit!"

* * *

To her credit, the cashier barely batted an eyelid when Riley hauled two shopping baskets filled to be brim with protein bars, energy bars, and any other non-perishables that are convenient to eat on the go (crackers, individually wrapped cakes, etc), as well as two five-litre bottled waters on the counter and handed her a gold credit card with 'NEST' etched on the front.

Riley wasn't stupid. She knew that each trip drastically increased their risk of being traced by the government, which was why she was going to make the most out of each trip and stock up as much as possible. This way, at least she could be less of a liability to the Autobots (only _less_ of a liability, because no matter how hard she tried, she would always, always hold them back, hold them back from freedom, from escaping humanity because _she was a human_ and nothing could change that, nothing, _nothing_ ).

Right before the cashier swiped the card across the reader, one of the items on display at the front counter caught her eye. Quickly stopping the cashier from ringing her up, she picked up the long, boxy, tube of hard-boiled milk candy from the shelf, examining it with a twist of wistful longing in her heart.

" _Concentrated Milk Flavour!"_ the box proclaimed helpfully, and she was awash with a swell of nostalgia. Back then, they had struggled even to get three meals a day, yet her parents had _still_ managed to scrape together just enough money for her birthday gift. Despite her best efforts to prolong it, the seven ( _seven_! In a _whole box_! It's nothing if not a scam if you asked her) candies in the box had lasted less than a month. Yet the box itself accompanied her until it was worn and crumbly.

_Home_ , the candies taste like home.

"If you're interested, these are on sale right now," the cashier piped up, seeing her hesitance.

Whether it was her desire to cling to a last shred of comfort or simply what the cashier had said she could not say, but she found herself dropping the box in her hand into one of the red plastic shopping baskets on the counter.

"Alright then," the cashier said cheerfully, transferring all the items in the baskets into two large white plastic bags, "that'll be two hundred and seventy-five dollars."

The card was swiped across the reader.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the cashier said apologetically a few seconds later, frowning at the monitor in confusion, "it seems like your card has been rejected. Would you like me to try again?"

Coils of unease began to unfurl in her stomach. "Uh, sure! Yeah, please do that," she managed faintly, forcing a quick smile to hide her rising panic.

NEST's special issued credit cards were given to every Autobot for emergency use. The cards were designed to be untraceable, compatible with every type of card reader, and had no credit limit, which meant purchases of any magnitude should not be a problem.

Unless… Cemetery Wind finally figured out a way to shut down the NEST funding account?

"I'm sorry, Miss, but your card got rejected again. Do you have any other form of payment you can use instead?"

Oh no, no, no.

"Miss?" the cashier's gaze held concern, but also a hint of worry, as if she already suspected what Riley was planning on doing.

Without a word, Riley reached out, snatched the card from the cashier's grip, grabbed the two large plastic bagfuls of groceries, and sprinted out the glass doors.

"Hey-"

Adrenaline coursed through her veins, heightening her senses. Her brain was more alert than she had been for a long time, and she was keenly aware of the incredulous shouts behind her, her own laboured breathing, and the repeated smacks of the two heavy bags against her legs.

_Run run run run run, run to Optimus, get out of there, get out, get out, get out!_

There! The Peterbilt parked right across the street. _Run. Faster. Faster. Almost there!_

"Stop right there!"

_Almost there almost there almost-_

She all but leapt into the truck, landing onto the seats in an ungraceful sprawl, bags strewn haphazardly onto the floor of the cabin. The door slammed shut immediately, engine starting with a deafening roar as the Prime accelerated away from her pursuers.

* * *

The ride back was silent, save for the quiet hum of Optimus's engines and the crunching in her ears as she chewed on a cheese-flavoured Ritz cracker methodically.

"Eat," Optimus had told her firmly, after she had sat there in the driver's seat numbly for more than a minute after they had started driving, the shock and adrenaline not having completely worn off.

So she had eaten, slowly and mechanically, barely aware of her movements. The crackers felt dry and salty against her tongue, the flavour of artificial cheese sticking to the roof of her mouth even after she swallowed.

Crackers which she had not paid for, she reminded herself, guilt clawing in her stomach where the weight of the swallowed food settled. Crackers which she had no right to have. Crackers which she had _stolen_.

The lone remaining cracker in the packet appeared even more unappetizing now.

Ignoring the foreign tightness in her throat, Riley folded up the opening of the red packaging carefully to prevent any crumbs from spilling out before stuffing the wrapped biscuit into the left pocket of her uniform, turning to stare at the scenery zooming past outside.

"The amount you consumed should not be sufficient to provide enough energy for sustaining your bodily functions,"

She knew she hadn't eaten since the tuna sandwich the soldier had given her, and even _that_ had barely been enough to stave off her hunger at that time. She knew that she needed to eat.

But once she had taken out the bright red plastic packaging from her pocket and held it in her hand, she found that she could not.

Her gaze travelled to the two bulging plastic bags leaning against the passenger seat and immediately knew deep in her heart that she would not be able to eat anything inside. How could she, when the manner of which the food was obtained had violated every single core value that had been etched into her very being since a young age?

"Riley,"

She looked up at the dashboard, miserable, feeling as if her insides had been hollowed out.

"Why do you refuse to eat?"

"I stole this food, sir- Optimus," she told him flatly, bracing herself for his disappointment, "The NEST card didn't work- I think Attinger managed to disable it, and I didn't have any money on me and the cashier kept staring at me and I- I panicked. I didn't know what to do, so I just grabbed the bags and ran"- her voice cut off abruptly, impulsion forcing her to swallow thickly- "I didn't pay for this food. I'm sorry- I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me."

If this happened a stellar cycle ago Optimus would not have understood. Pit, it could have happened less than a _solar cycle_ ago he still would not have understood. He would have reprimanded the offender for breaking the human law and brought them into custody.

Yet a lot had changed in the last solar cycle.

Over the last solar cycle, Optimus had witnessed the cruelty with which humans treated all who defied them, cruelty dealt without mercy nor remorse, not even towards their own kind. He understood that in certain situations one often had no _choice_ but to do what they could to survive, even if it meant going against certain rules.

He was not about to let this femme berate herself over something she had no control over.

The touch of something smooth and metallic against the back of her hand startled Riley out of her thoughts. Blinking, she watched as Optimus's sparkling cable slowly curled its way along her arm up until her elbow.

"You are a good person, Riley Brown," Optimus's words, strong and confident, were said with such conviction that Riley could not help but believe him, "I believe deep in my spark that you would never intentionally do harm. Do not blame yourself for actions that have been forced upon you."

The sparkling cable was warm and grounding on her skin, and at that moment Riley wanted more than anything for it to wrap around her entire body and surround her with support and comfort.

"Thank you," she whispered, unfurling the folded packaging in her hand and taking out the remaining biscuit.

Once she had finished she rummaged in one of the plastic bags on her side and took out the tube of hard-boiled milk candy she had added to the shopping basket at the last minute, carefully unwrapping one and popping it in her mouth. A sliver of guilt resurfaced as she recalled how the cashier had cheerfully recommended it to her, but it was quickly chased away.

The candy was as good as she remembered, creamy, milky, and just the right blend of sweetness and saltiness. She savoured it slowly and deliberately, allowing the flavour to sweep across her tongue as she leaned back into the headrest. The wrapping, once smoothed out and refolded, was carefully tucked back into the box.

_When this was all over_ , she vowed to herself, _she was going to get a new job and pay back every penny she owed the store_.

* * *

At first, there was only shock, quickly accompanied by disbelief. When his brain finally caught up with what he was hearing, sheer and utter _joy_ ripped through him, along with bone-crushing _relief_ and satisfaction because _he knew it_ , _he knew it_ , his Riley was _good_ and _loyal_ and didn't betray him. She couldn't have betrayed him. She was _Riley_ , and she would never, _never_ do anything like that. He may have had his doubts but deep down he always knew that his Riley was good. He _knew it_ and _he was right all along_.

"Do you understand what you're being told, soldier?"

He didn't care that his commander was right in front of him. He didn't care that he would be making a fool out of himself. He didn't care that such disrespectful behaviour could very likely get him punished.

Steve threw back his head and laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the rating from General to Teen and Up Audiences because rough times are coming for our lovely protagonists ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're at chapter 10, guys! Thank you so much for all your kudos and kind comments! I really appreciate them :)
> 
> SO, I set up a new schedule for myself. Basically, I would force myself to squeeze out at least 200 words per day. Doesn't matter if I will delete them all the next day, doesn't matter if I know what I'm writing is basically crap. 200 words a day. At least. Worry about the rest the next day.
> 
> (As you can see, it kinda worked. My goal right now is a new chapter every three weeks or so. No promises though!)

When they got back Ratchet was in the same room they left him at, optic ridges furrowed as he fiddled with a piece of complicated-looking equipment. Bumblebee stood next to him, observing his work intently. At the sound of Optimus's engine, Ratchet looked up, reconnected a few wires, and handed the device to Bumblebee, letting out a stream of clicks and hisses that Riley assumed to be instructions.

Bumblebee took the device with a curt nod, lifting his right servo to his helm in a mock salute before walking out of the room, pausing to give Riley a small wave. Pleasantly surprised, Riley waved back, her face pressed firmly against Optimus's driver side window. She didn't think anyone in the base except for Optimus and Ratchet would bother to be civil with her after most of the Autobots made it perfectly clear that they wanted nothing to do with her. Bumblebee's optics brightened cheerfully at her reaction and he dipped his helm at her in an exaggerated bow before ducking through the doorway.

Her heart much lighter than it had been just moments before, Riley grabbed the two large bags and climbed out of Optimus's cabin, taking care not to crush the groceries inside as she dumped them onto the concrete ground. Behind her, Optimus transformed in a flurry of metallic clanks and whirs. By the time she faced him again, his armour had already returned to its signature blue-red colour, the black having faded away completely.

She really must remember to ask Optimus how he did that before she forgot again.

The skin-tingling sensation of a medical scan swept through Riley, causing her to turn her attention back to Ratchet. The medic was frowning at her consideringly.

"Your blood sugar level is still not as high as I'd normally like, but I suppose it will have to do," he said finally, "With your consent, I will attempt the removal procedure now."

Riley nearly choked on her spit, "Wait, _right now_?"

"Of course," Ratchet replied impatiently, "Unless there is anything else of importance requiring your attention at the moment?"

Well, no, but that didn't mean she was mentally prepared to essentially undergo surgery _right that instance_!

Still, she stepped forward and clambered onto the medic's waiting servo, letting herself be lifted to his chest level. One of the digits on Ratchet's free servo parted to reveal a long needle connected to a vial containing a clear liquid. Riley audibly gulped.

"An anaesthetic," Ratchet said dryly before she could ask, "unless you would prefer undergoing the procedure while conscious?"

He snorted briefly when she shook her head and took hold of her arm, piercing her skin with the needle and injecting the medicine into her bloodstream.

"Come hold your charge," he instructed Optimus, "I will need both my servos for this."

The last thing Riley felt was a pair of servos gently scooping her up and cradling her limp form.

* * *

Riley awoke to an aching stiffness in her back.

The surface she was lying on was warm, but it was also _extremely_ hard and uncomfortable. Fighting a groan, Riley sat up.

Or tried to, anyway.

Raising her arm was like trying to lift a sack of wet concrete. No matter how hard she tried, her limbs wouldn't quite respond, leaving her with a vague sense of alarm that kept steadily increasing the more she attempted to move.

"Easy," a quiet voice intoned, warm and reassuring, "There is no need to panic. You are safe."

Riley's struggles subsided. That voice. It sounded familiar. _Safe_. She had no idea why, but she knew she could trust it.

"The effects of the narcotic should wear off in a few seconds," another voice sounded further away.

_Narcotic_? What narcotic? All she remembered was that her back was sore so she tried to get up but couldn't and then a voice told her- _oh_.

As if a switch had been thrown, Riley's consciousness came slamming back into her in full force. Optimus, the voice calming her down was Optimus, and she was… where was she?

A look to her side revealed that she was high, _high_ above the ground. Terrifyingly high.

She jerked in alarm and the surface underneath her tilted slightly. For one petrifying second, she felt herself start to _slide_ -

Then something metallic curled upwards and halted her descent. Riley belatedly realized that she was lying on Optimus's servo. She slowly pushed herself up from the surface she was laying on, her movements sluggish and poorly coordinated. Her back screamed in protest, but she ignored it, focusing on getting herself upright. Once Optimus saw what she was trying to do, he slipped his free servo under her arm, letting her use it as leverage to hoist herself into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" he asked her as soon as she was comfortably seated.

How _was_ she feeling? Surprisingly well, she supposed, if one accounted for the fact that someone had just been digging around in her body to remove s-

"Did you get it out?", the words flew unbidden out of her mouth and she watched as both Cybertronians simultaneously stiffened.

_Uh oh_.

Ignoring the warning signs popping up in her brain, she pressed on, "You got it out, right? The _grocyp_? No more alien tech inside my body?"

The servo she wasn't currently sitting on came up behind her and settled lightly across her back, its weight a comforting presence that did little to quell the anxiety building up in her gut.

She held on desperately to the hope that Ratchet _did_ get the _grocyp_ out, that their solemn, _pained_ expressions were due to some other reason completely unrelated to her. After all, they hadn't exactly _told her_ that they'd failed yet, so there _was_ still a chance that everything was fine and well and-

"Riley…"

Her heart plunged at Optimus's desolate tone, yet _still_ , she clung on to the last shard of hope because there _could still be a chance that they managed to get it out_ so _please_ let everything be okay please please please-

"Riley, please, look at me,"

Trembling, she raised her head to meet the gaze of the Autobot leader, searching, _pleading_ for confirmation that her worries were for nought, that everything was all right.

All she found was sorrow and grief and regret.

"Little one," Optimus's vocalizer sounded close to keening, "I truly apologize for all that you have been through for my sake-"

"I failed," Ratchet interjected bluntly, his voice flat and expressionless, "By the time I attempted the procedure, the _grocyp_ had already entered your heart through your bloodstream. Removal is impossible without the risk of invoking organ failure."

_No_.

She did not believe this. She _refused_ to believe this. Optimus _promised_ that they could get it out, he _promised_. He looked her right in the eye and _swore to her_ that he would do so. He _promised_. There had to be a way.

"There has to be a way," she murmured to herself, her voice gradually increasing in volume and pitch as she wrestled herself to her feet on Optimus's servo, "There _has_ to be _a way_!"

"Youngling-"

"No, Ratchet!," Riley's eyes were frenzied with desperation as she faced the medic, "There _has_ to be a way to get it out! There _has_ to! The _grocyp_ , it's made of metal, right? Can't you draw it away from my heart using magnets or something and get it out afterwards?"

A heavy silence lay in the wake of her outburst, and Riley abruptly realized how _pathetic_ she must have sounded to the two mechs. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Ratchet beat her to it, his quiet tone regretful and deeply apologetic.

"My equipment is not delicate enough to handle such a procedure. There is no guarantee that your frame will not be harmed in the process,"

There _had to_ be a way…

Hope was a funny thing. The harder you grabbed on to it, the more it tried to evade you. But Riley didn't care. She did _not_ care. She had latched onto that last bit of hope a long time ago and she would never _ever_ let go so as long as there was a _chance_ to fix this, to get that abomination of science out of her bloodstream, out of her body, out of her waking thoughts out out _out_ -

Ratchet heaved a heavy ex-vent before he continued, "It is impossible to remove the _grocyp_ from your frame without causing major organ and tissue damage,"

The hope shattered.

She dropped to her knees, burying her face deep into her palms as she screamed out her despair and anguish and frustration and fear while kneeling on the Autobot leader's servo. A weight across her back- something stroking up and down her spine rhythmically- and she realized that her forehead was being pressed to the base of Optimus's helmet. The Prime's royal blue helm was bowed and his optics were shuttered in grief and for a moment she was too stunned to react because she would never have imagined _Optimus Prime_ acting like this.

But then her breaths started to come in large, gasping sobs and it was all she could do to focus on _not crying_ because this was the _second time_ she had broken down into tears in front of the Autobot leader and she was a _soldier_ and _soldiers didn't cry_. They _didn't cry_ so _stop crying stop crying stop it stop it stop_ -

She squeezed her eyes shut and forced her breathing to slow, allowing her hands to fall from her face and reach outwards to embrace the smooth blue metal before her. _Warm_. The metal was warm, and it thrummed with life underneath her fingertips. She inhaled. Exhaled. _Metal_. _Energon_. _Safety_. Her breathing evened. If she paid close attention she could hear the faint whirring of internal machinery and the distant humming of Optimus's spark.

_Up, down, up, down_ , went the pressure along her vertebra, coaxing away the remains of what had plagued her mind moments before and only leaving behind grief. Grief was fine. Grief she _knew_ how to handle. Grief _sucked_ , but it was better than whatever that was just now. Both physically and mentally spent, she slumped against the surface before her, relaxing into Optimus's ministrations. She was so exhausted that she nearly missed Ratchet's next line.

"There is no way to remove the _grocyp_ from your frame. However, it is possible to nullify its effects,"

Her head jerked up, heart racing a thousand times a second as she processed what she just heard. Nullifying the _grocyp_ 's effects. That's basically just as good as removing it! Joy blossomed in her chest, threatening to burst out of her as she stared at Ratchet in disbelief, wondering _why on Earth_ he had only _just_ told her of this extremely important piece of information.

Beneath her, Optimus went completely rigid, and his calming strokes on her back stopped. Puzzled, Riley looked back at Optimus only to find him looking sharply at the medic.

_::Ratchet::_ Optimus's comm to the medic was saturated with underlying tension _::we have spoken about this before::_

_::The youngling has a right to know::_ Ratchet's reply was equally terse _::It is a patient's choice whether to accept or forsake a possible treatment, not ours::_

_::Ratchet,_ no _, we shall think of an alternative solution::_

_::You and I both know there isn't one, Optimus::_

Riley blinked, suddenly unsure as to how to respond. Removing the _grocyp_ 's effects was a _good_ thing, wasn't it? If so, why did Optimus appear so _displeased_ with the idea?

"Youngling,"

She looked at Ratchet.

"Do you want me to tell you about the procedure?"

Riley nodded without hesitation, not missing how Optimus let out a small sound of frustration.

"Very well. As you are aware, Cybertronians inject their _grocyp_ into symbiotes they claim as their own. The symbiotic relationship typically lasts until either the master or the symbiote is offlined. However, there _are_ rare cases in which ownership of a symbiote is transferred from one Cybertronian to another.

"If the new master were to inject their own _grocyp_ into the claimed symbiote, the _grocyp_ 's Self-Defense Protocols would be able to neutralize the former owner's _grocyp_ with the assistance of a medic before settling down in the symbiote's frame to await activation,"

A new master. Okay, but what did that- oh, _oh_.

She understood why Optimus didn't like the idea now.

And _yet_ , as unappealing as becoming a 'symbiote' (pet?) of one of the Autobots sounded (here she had to push down a wave of xenophobia because- nope, _nope_ , it's better not to think about it. It's better not to think about it at _all_ ), it was better than the alternative.

Right?

_-Huge, iron nets dropped from helicopters. Colourful body armour twisted and jerked. Liquid nitrogen covered all metal surfaces with a chilly white mist-_

Yes, it's definitely better.

Or… she could just leave.

Could she just leave?

On one hand, leaving seemed like the best choice. The Autobots would lose the liability of having to care for a fragile, useless human, and Cemetery Wind would lose a way to track down Op- the Autobots. On the other hand…

_They will use you as bait to draw me out of hiding… and they will succeed._

No, leaving was not a choice, not unless staying endangered the lives of all Autobots.

That only left one option. She was going to have to accept a _grocyp_ from an Autobot (another wave of xenophobia. She pushed that down too).

_This was better_ , she reasoned to herself, _she could trust the mech (it was obviously going to be Optimus. She could not imagine it being anyone else) not to pry into her private thoughts and feelings. Hell, she doubted he would even be willing to use it to check her_ vitals _without her consent_.

It would be like the _grocyp_ was never inside her.

With that thought, she resolutely looked up at the two mechs.

"I'll do it,"

The mood in the room changed then, morphing from tense and apprehensive into more of a resigned and subdued air.

"Very well," Ratchet said eventually, "from whom would you like to receive the _grocyp_ from?"

Riley gave him an odd look, "From Optimus." As if it could be anyone else.

At the edge of her vision, she could see Optimus _reeling_ from her statement, the sudden movement prompting her to brace herself against the servo curled around her body lest she fell over. Shocked, she watched as Optimus's vocalizer reset once. Twice.

"Riley," his normal calm baritone was slightly staticky, "are you certain?"

"Yeah," her voice didn't shake as much as she thought it would, a fact that surprised her, "Injecting it in now and figuring out how to get it out later while we have time is better than having the government track us down and capture all of you. Plus, I would rather have _you_ be able to monitor my every movement than Savoy."

Ratchet cut in before Optimus could reply, "Optimus, if you could? I would like to complete this procedure as soon as possible."

"No,"

The refute was so flat and abrupt that Riley had no idea how to respond.

Ratchet, however, had no such qualms.

"For Primus's sake, Optimus! The youngling _agreed_. Must we continue to argue about this?"

"You are suggesting to inject a _grocyp_ into a _sentient being_. Such an act goes against everything Autobots stand for,"

"Yes, you have mentioned this many times," Ratchet snapped with thinly veiled impatience, "and yet you fail to understand that the alternative is to allow that abomination of Cybertronian technology to remain in the youngling's frame, which is detrimental to _both_ the youngling _and_ ourselves."

"I am aware-"

"Are you, Optimus? If you truly are, then we shall begin the procedure right now,"

" _No_ ," Optimus was aware that his logic circuits were informing him that Ratchet's argument was sound, having run more than two million hypothetical scenarios to determine the best possible outcome since the conversation had first begun. Resuming attempts to remove the _grocyp_ from Riley's frame resulted in a ninety-six point two five percent chance that their location would be disclosed, while deactivating the hostile _grocyp_ before considering the next course of action decreased the chance to zero point six percent.

Yet, an unidentified subprotocol identified as _top-priority_ on his primary display had marked the suggested actions of his logic circuits as _incompatible with primary objective_ , redirecting the processing of his logic circuit's activities to a looping low-priority subroutine in his secondary processor while increasing the bandwidth of his primary processor for his emotional circuits.

Curious. Never once had his primary objective of promoting peace and equality among all sentient beings warranted an increased input from his emotional circuits until now.

" _Why_ , Optimus? Why must you be so _persistent_?"

Ratchet was correct, of course, yet- _incompatible with primary objective_ \- something was preventing him from agreeing to the procedure. The instinctive, overwhelming, _hard-coded_ desire to _protect_ , although he was uncertain as to _what_ exactly he deemed so important to guard against harm.

But Ratchet was still talking, listing reasons for completing the procedure as soon as possible and Optimus could not stop the defensive fury that _radiated_ from his spark as he listened. The unknown subprotocol flashed aggressively across his primary display, demanding him to online his weapons system and eliminate the threat

"Give me _one_ reason, Optimus. Give me _one slagging good reason_ why we shouldn't proceed,"

His control over his defence system slipped, and his weapons system flared to life. His battle mask slid over his faceplate with a threatening _clang_ and his free servo transformed into a glowing energon sword (the discharge of an ion cannon may damage a sparkling's fragile audio sensors).

" _NO_ ," the sound that came out of Optimus's vocalizer couldn't be described as anything other than a _snarl_ , "I cannot- _will not_ allow such indignity to be placed upon _my sparkling_!"

The subprotocols- _Sparkling Protection Subprotocols_ , he realized in shock- flared in satisfaction and agreement to his statement, gleefully noting that the threat- _Ratchet_ had frozen in response to his declaration.

That was when he realized- he had called Riley his sparkling.

_Primus_! How could he have been so blind? It all made sense now- his Creator Protocols had flared to life when he first witnessed the human in danger. The same protocols had urged him to deploy his sparkling cables whenever _Riley_ \- _his sparkling_ - _was in distress_. He could not fathom the thought of injecting his _grocyp_ into Riley because a Creator would protect their sparkling from _all perceivable threats_ , including emotional distress, at all cost.

It had never been an error.

Sudden trepidation filled his spark. Ignoring the flare of uncertainty from his emotional circuits, he sent a swift command to display his primary objective on his HUD.

_-Primary objective: To ensure welfare of sparkling-_

His vents hitched. Uncertainty quickly morphing into perturbation, he sent command after command, hoping to confirm that the previous results had been an error.

_-Primary objective: To ensure welfare of sparkling-_

_-Primary objective: To ensure welfare of sparkling-_

_-Primary objective: To ensure welfare of sparkling-_

Spark sinking, he sent one last command.

_-Secondary objective: To promote peace and equality among all sentient beings-_

Perturbation about to turn into full-blown _panic_ , he rapidly lowered Riley ( _his sparkling!_ ) onto the concrete floor.

"Excuse me. I require some time," he told the two stiffly, noting how Riley's expression was one of absolute bewilderment.

With that, he transformed and sped out of the room. - _ACTIONS INCOMPATIBLE WITH PRIMARY OBJECTIVE_ \- his Creator Protocols screeched at him, demanding that he desist immediately and return to secure the safety of his sparkling. Venting harshly, he forced the offending protocols to the backmost of his processor and drove on.

Riley stared at the doorway from which Optimus had disappeared, her mind still whirling from everything that occurred in the last few seconds.

"Um," she said slowly, glancing unsurely at Ratchet, "where did he go?"

Ratchet let out a long, suffering ex-vent.

"I had suspected- but never had I thought he would _actually_ activate his Creator Protocols," he caught her bemused stare before continuing, his voice uncharacteristically quiet, "Give him some time and space to reorganize his priority trees. Judging by his reaction he had only just realized his Creator Protocols were online."

Riley wasn't sure how many percent of that sentence she was supposed to understand, but one thing stuck to her mind no matter how hard she tried to let it go.

"He called me his sparkling," she eventually said, "that's the Cybertronian term for baby, isn't it?"

_And after that he literally dumped me on the floor and ran away_ , she added silently. Was the thought of having her as a sparkling so repulsing that even _Optimus Prime_ was horrified?

"That is something you will have to ask Optimus himself," Ratchet's tone carried an emotion Riley could not identify. Pity, perhaps? She could not tell, "Don't go after him. He will approach you when he is ready."

* * *

Optimus did not come back for a long time.

After a while, Riley got tired of waiting and asked Ratchet if she could walk around, to which he responded with "Don't leave the premises"

From what she could tell, she was in a worn-out industrial building, most probably an abandoned factory of some sort. The room she was currently in was _huge_ , large enough to accommodate all eight Autobots with ample space to spare. At two corners of the room sat strange-looking devices similar to the one Ratchet handed to Bumblebee earlier on, approximately cylindrical in shape with multiple spindly extensions protruding from the sides.

Curious, she stepped closer to one, admiring the steady blue glow the pulsed within. There was an out-worldly quality to the device, making it certain that this was no man-made object.

"Watch it, human!"

Riley jerked back, twirling around to find Sideswipe glaring at her. Bumblebee stood to his side, servos raised in a placating gesture.

"What were you doing with the energon-cloaking device?" Sideswipe demanded, plating bristling with hostility.

"What? I-"

"You were tampering with it, weren't you? Trying to deactivate it, reveal our location?" arm-mounted Cybertronium blades slid out with a near-silent _shink_ , "I knew letting you stay was a mistake. One that I don't intend to make again."

The next few seconds were a blur of _movement_ and metal clashing with metal. When Riley's arms finally lowered from where she had been shielding her head from harm (which, now that she thought of it, was a hilariously pointless move), she spotted Bumblebee holding back Sideswipe, whose blades were still out and aimed at her. Over the buzzing in her ears, she could hear Ratchet shouting, angry streams of Cybertronian melding seamlessly with strings of English.

"-of all the pit-spawned, idiotic things to do… she didn't know any better! What in Primus's name could possibly have possessed you to threaten an _unarmed_ _human_? _Glitched_ , half-witted _slagger_ …"

He finished by bringing the tool he was holding down on Sideswipe's helm with a definitive _clang_ , "All of you, _out_! I need to concentrate. These solar energon harvesters aren't going to complete themselves!"

Solar energon harvesters. Right. Those sounded important, but Riley had a more pressing question on her mind. The other two Autobots had already left the room, leaving her alone with the medic.

"Ratchet?"

"What _is_ it, youngling?"

She rubbed her hands together nervously, "What are we going to do about the _grocyp_ now? Is Optimus still going to do it? Or should I ask someone else if he's so against it-"

" _Primus_ no. Optimus sees you as his sparkling now. Creator Protocols are _extremely_ protective. If any of the Autobots so much as _looks_ at you the wrong way, his weapons system will activate instantly. He will have to inject the _grocyp_ _himself_ ,"

"Yeah but-"

"Give him _time_ , youngling. He understands what he must do, but he will require time to convince his protocols to accept it," his gruff tone softened, "You don't have to worry. More than sixty hours remain until activation. He would have returned before then."

At her hesitant nod, Ratchet turned back to his work, having seemingly forgotten about her presence the instant his back was turned.

With a small sigh, she turned and walked out of the room through the doorway Bumblebee and Sideswipe had exited from. The second room was large too, though not as much so as the one she just left. If she had to guess, she would say that the previous space had been the main body of the factory, where most of the machinery once resided, while this was where trucks unloaded raw materials and transported away manufactured goods.

Fading golden yellow streaks of sunlight shone from two openings on either side of the room, presumably entrances for the vehicles. Riley's heart skipped a beat in fear that the outside world would look in and just _see_ the Autobots lounging right in the _middle of the room_ , but a second look allowed her to notice the almost-invisible compact discs secured above the rectangular doorways. Holographic projectors. Her breathing slowed.

Then, against her better judgement, she approached the Autobots.

"Oh look, it's the security risk," Crosshairs casually retrieved his gun from subspace and started cleaning it, "What do you want, _pest_?"

"Hey, lay off the girl," Hound interrupted before she could reply, "Boss's orders, remember?"

"Bah, you're no fun,"

This was a bad idea. Riley was starting to regret trying to interact with the Autobots.

"Well, what do you want, human?" The new voice was cold and unwelcoming. Riley looked to the side to find Sideswipe observing her carefully, his stance outwardly hostile.

"Nothing," she said quickly, averting her gaze to the ground, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll go now."

She had only gone a few steps before Sideswipe called out to her.

"Wait,"

She stopped. Turned around.

"Prime has vouched for your credibility, which is why I will tolerate your presence for now," Sideswipe's hardened optics narrowed, "But know that the _instant_ you do anything to make me doubt your loyalty, I will terminate you."

Riley gulped.

"Have I made myself clear, human?"

" _Hey, lay off the girl, Boss's orders_ ," Hound's voice emitted from Bumblebee's radio.

Sideswipe glanced between Riley and Bumblebee, gave Riley a long stare that made her feel extremely small and uncomfortable, and rolled away.

"Thank you," Riley said to Bumblebee once Sideswipe had left, "You didn't have to stand up for me."

" _You gotta do what you gotta do_ ," he replied, lifting his servos into a Cybertronian imitation of a shrug.

A small smile appeared on her face, "Do you know anywhere I can stay for the night where I won't be a bother to any of you? It's been a long day, and I can use some sleep."

The yellow Autobot perked up, enthusiastically striding towards the opposite end of the room while gesturing at her to follow. She complied, trailing behind him until he led her in front of a human-sized door (all the other doorways in the place were large enough to allow even Optimus's vehicle form to pass through). When she opened it, she found herself looking at a slightly dusty office, with a steel working desk placed directly in the middle. Other than the desk and a swivel chair behind it, the room was completely bare.

"Thanks, Bumblebee, this is perfect,"

" _Hey it's okay, it's okay, you're welcome_ ," he answered playfully, giving her a wave in goodbye and leaving her to her own devices.

It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing, Riley supposed. A cursory glance around the room revealed a small cramped washroom with- _oh thank goodness_ \- working plumbing and a small but steady stream of water from the tap. Grabbing a towel hanging from a hook beside the mirror, she got to work, wetting the towel thoroughly and wiping down the desk and the chair. The floor was much harder work, but she managed after fifteen minutes of painful scrubbing. By the time she was done, the towel was blackened and covered with dust, causing the water to turn a murky grey when she washed it off.

She leaned against the washroom door to catch her breath as she inspected her handiwork, feeling a weak sense of satisfaction. The next step was to haul all her groceries from the main room back to the office ( _her_ office?), which warranted a lot of stares from the Autobots. Bumblebee, bless his soul- spark, had offered to help her carry the bags, but she declined, wishing to complete the task herself. When she was done she settled happily in the (clean!) chair behind the desk, munching on a strawberry flavoured energy bar and feeling more accomplished than she had felt all day.

Sleep came easily after that.

* * *

She awoke to her back _screaming_ in agony, immediately deciding that sprawling on the desk when sleeping was _not_ something she would repeat ever again. Along with it came an intense feeling of _wrongness_ and discomfort that had nothing to do with the state of her back. A peek outside the office confirmed that it was late at night and the Autobots were in recharge in their vehicular forms. What could have possibly woken her up at this hour?

Then she felt it, the horrible _draining_ feeling that seemed to emanate from her very heart, sapping her strength and awakening a chill that crawled down her spine.

Somehow she knew, she _just knew_ what was happening with absolute certainty.

The _grocyp_ was activating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, please tell me if Oppy (or any of the others) is too OOC. I was really uncertain about this chapter, so supportive criticism is welcomed and appreciated!
> 
> Holy crap this was a long chapter. I hadn't planned on it being so long. The words just kinda flowed once I got writing :D
> 
> Also… I'm starting to see the appeal of letting things end with a cliffhanger. LOL :)
> 
> Edit: Guys guys guys! I received my first ever fan edit! Many thanks to [Darker_Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darker_Stars/pseuds/Darker_Stars) for creating this wonderful piece of work! [Go check it out!](https://heythereitsstar.tumblr.com/post/625970826776297472/through-the-eyes-of-a-cemetery-wind-soldier)


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who’s back with another chapter! What’s this? A new chapter in a week? Impossible! Nah, not impossible, just short.
> 
> Guys, if you haven’t known already, Darker_Stars created a fan edit based on Chapter 10 of this story! Many thanks to her for creating this fantastic piece of work! Go check it out, the link is included in the end-chapter notes of Chapter 10 :)  
>    
>  **Chapter warning: minor descriptions of violence**

_Oh gosh oh no why is this happening how is this even possible?_ Optimus said seventy-two hours! They _both_ said seventy-two hours.

_No_ , Riley realized with dread, they said it was seventy-two hours for _Cybertronians_.

_Besides_ , who _knew_ what other properties of the _grocyp_ \- apart from its compatibility with the human body- the government had altered from the Cybertronian original when they had reverse-engineered it?

All that's important right now was that one, a freaking _tracker_ in her body was about to broadcast the location of every single living Autobot currently on this planet, and two, _hell_ if she was going to let that happen.

Now that she had accepted her fate, Riley felt strangely calm, the terror and confusion that had filled her moments ago becoming muted and suppressed. Strong, fierce determination burned within her, chasing away the remnant traces of panic. Soldiers protected their own, and she had already chosen her side when she decided to climb into Optimus's cabin. _Nobody_ was harming the Autobots. Not if _she_ had anything to say about it.

The draining sensation in her chest grew even more pronounced and her confidence faltered just a little bit, causing her to have second thoughts about what she was about to attempt.

_Nope_ , she ruthlessly shoved her doubts and uncertainties deep down where they could no longer distract her, shaking her head to clear her mind, _she promised herself that she would leave when staying endangered the lives of all Autobots_. She _had_ to do this, or she would never be able to forgive herself.

" _But Optimus…_ " a tiny part of her brain whispered. She ignored the sudden rush of guilt that swarmed her gut. Took a deep breath.

And ran.

The short distance between the office door and the nearest opening seemed to stretch for miles and miles. As she sprinted across the open space, she was acutely aware of the parked forms of the Autobots mere _metres_ away from her. Their invisible gazes seemed to drill right into her back, sending pinpricks of discomfort along her spine.

_Get a grip of yourself_ , she told herself sternly, the Autobots were all in _recharge_. Although it _did_ seem weird that no one was awake to stand guard…

She froze, slowly turning around to regard the silent vehicles. All seven were still and unmoving, a clear indicator that they were deep in recharge. As her eyes travelled to Optimus's alt mode she felt a stab of guilt and uncertainty, which she quickly pushed down.

Something was missing, she could feel it, but a sudden _twinge_ in her chest prevented her from giving it much thought. Grimacing slightly, she hurried out of the building, barely noticing the signature _tingly_ sensation spreading across her skin as she passed through the hologram.

Encouraged by her early success, Riley set off to put as much space between her and the Autobot hideout as possible, settling into a brisk jog that quickly evolved into a mindless dash across random streets and pavements. Throughout the 'escapade' she kept her eyes firmly glued to her feet, determined not to expose her surrounding buildings to Cemetery Wind lest they figure out a trail leading back to where she came from.

The pressure in her chest intensified to the point where it bordered on _painful_ and then abated abruptly, leaving her gasping faintly. This was it. The _grocyp_ had activated. She was sure of it. The feeling of something _wrong_ returned tenfold, giving her the sense that she was being watched, but she daren't look up to confirm it, opting to continue blundering forward instead.

Her panic was palpable now, crawling from the depths of her churning stomach where she had banished it and making its way upwards, encasing her throat in its suffocating grip as she ran blindly, not at all caring whether she bumped into anyone. Gosh, any moment now and black SUVs will pull up beside her, weaponry humming to life, pointed _right at her_. She would be dragged back to the Cemetery Wind base to be questioned, drilled for information, locked away forever…

She choked back a small whimper, bracing her palms against her forehead as she leaned heavily against a display window in front of a shop, trying to control her breathing. She was distantly aware that she was trembling, the tremors having nothing to do with the temperature of the city that night. The more she tried to fight it, to push back against the fear crashing down on her, the more it surged forward with increased ferocity, threatening to uproot her and sweep her away.

She wanted- _needed_ Optimus. Oh, how she missed his grounding touch, his gentle but firm reassurances, his comforting and calming presence. How she longed to race back to the factory building, to shut herself in his cabin and never come out, to finally feel _safe_ again.

But she couldn't.

"This is for Optimus," she whispered to herself, "this is to keep him safe."

With great difficulty, she pushed herself off the cold surface of the glass and gathered herself together to resume running.

"Riley!"

That voice- it was the soldier who had been visiting her when Optimus rescued her.

Her blood ran cold. _No, no, no-_

She took off running, heart fluttering like a sparrow trapped in a cage as the sound of vehicles starting up reached her ears.

A desperate sob escaped her mouth as she made one last futile attempt to get away, shoes stumbling against pavement until a tackle from behind sent her sprawling. Strong arms gripped her, forced her upright-

And hugged her.

Shock kept her from moving, even as the person holding her pulled away, the heat of his hands burning into the skin of her upper arm through the fabric of her uniform. All around her stood- oh gosh- _her old team members_ , each staring at her with expressions ranging from joy and relief.

She hadn't realized how much she'd missed them until seeing them in front of her, smiling at her, everything from their careful formation as they stood before her and the unitized way they gripped their weapons bringing back bursts of fond memories of her time at NEST. How they had joked and bantered with each other when they were off duty, how they had worked together as one during fights, complementing the Autobots' strikes with attacks of their own. How they had trusted each other to have their backs, no matter how dangerous the situation.

"What- how- I don't understand," she breathed, eyes darting from soldier to soldier, from comrade to comrade. Jessie, Emily, Camila, Adam… they were all here. She couldn't believe it, but they were all here.

"The commander ordered for a team to be dispatched to extract you the instance the aliens' locations were known," Camila replied, eyes shining with happiness, "we volunteered- we all volunteered, including Steve from the other team. In fact, he was the one who told us how brave you were."

_Oh_ , his name was _Steve_! _Wrong focus, Riley, wrong focus_.

The most pressing question right now would be, why were they _happy_ to see her instead of pressing her forcefully to the ground with charges of treason?

"What do you mean, 'how brave I was'?" she asked carefully, trying (and failing) to act casual so as to avoid suspicion.

Something in the air _shimmered_ in her peripheral vision, similar to how images become blurry and distorted above an open fire, except it was gone before she had a chance to examine it further. The unease that had plagued her mind ever since she first stepped out of the office sprung back at full strength, which deeply unsettled her. At first, she had assumed that the feeling of _wrongness_ had to do with her fear of being caught by Cemetery Wind, but that was starting to seem less likely to be the case.

"-couldn't believe you would _actually_ do such a highly dangerous thing for our country. We were all at awe,"

Riley blinked, eyes refocusing on Jessie, who had apparently been talking for quite a while.

"I'm sorry?"

"I _said_ , to go undercover and pretend to be on the Autobots' side just to get the location of their hideout takes a lot of courage and dedication, especially since getting caught could mean getting killed. You're our hero, Ri,"

It was at that moment that Riley became absolutely certain the Cemetery Wind-made counterfeit _grocyp_ did _not_ have the ability to monitor her thoughts and emotions because she could barely hold in her incredulous, disbelieving _laugh_ upon hearing Jessie's statement. _Undercover_? Was _that_ what Savoy told them? Why on earth would he just blatantly _lie_ to his subordinates?

_It didn't matter_ , she told herself. What mattered was that she did it. The Cemetery Wind operatives followed her _here_ , which meant they had no idea where the Autobots were hiding. All seven Autobots were safe-

There were _eight_ Autobots.

All around her, the world erupted into chaos.

There was a sickening _thud_ of hard metal against flesh. Riley stared in horror and shock as the bodies of her former comrades flew several metres across the air and landed heavily on the pavement, dazed and groaning in pain. A lot of shouting and EMP guns powering up ensued.

"Cybertronian! Look out!" someone yelled before they were thrown into a wall by an invisible force. His head impacted the concrete with a loud _crack_ and he slid to the ground, limp and unmoving.

Steve whirled towards her, his face wearing a clear expression of panic just as she felt hard, unyielding digits wrap around her waist and yank her into the air. Sounds of transformation rang right next to her ears, strips of polyester tightening around her abdomen, chest, arms, legs and fixing her to her seat. When everything had settled Riley found herself looking at the sleek, stylish interior of a Ferrari 458 as the mileage sped past the window.

"I do believe," Mirage's smooth Italian drawl filled the interior of the vehicle, "that Prime would be interested to learn of your deeds, _traitor_."

* * *

"There is no use in hoping for your kind to rescue you. My shields can block even the strongest signals from escaping,"

Riley wiggled uncomfortably in her restraints, which tightened around her in response. Mirage let out a condescending sigh of impatience, as if disappointed by her foolishness.

"Your allies will not be able to detect the location beacon indicating your whereabouts unless I allow them to. Deactivate the tracker, it will not benefit your situation,"

"I- I can't, I-"

"Very well then," Mirage cut her off before she could explain, his voice hard as diamonds, "just know that the only reason you are still alive is because my Prime demands your safety."

_Well done, Riley_ , that was _two_ death threats in a row from two different Autobots within twelve hours.

The looming silhouette of the Autobot hideout soon came into view and Mirage navigated himself through one of the openings, decelerating fluidly before coming to a stop in the middle of the large space. After a few seconds of being jerked back and forth in what had to be the _most uncomfortable transformations_ Riley had ever experienced (she highly suspected that Mirage made the process as unpleasant as possible for her), she found herself in a one-handed iron grip with digits holding her arms firmly in place. Her legs swung freely below, sending her biological instinctive fear of falling into its highest notch and causing liquid ice to rocket through her veins. She stiffened instantly, not daring to even _twitch_ in fear that it would make Mirage's servo slip and drop her to her death.

If Mirage noticed the change in her demeanour, he didn't indicate it. Instead, he held out Riley as if showcasing a particularly intriguing specimen for all to see.

"The traitor, unharmed, as per your orders, Prime,"

That was when Riley became aware of the _simmering rage_ radiating from the surrounding mechs. All around her plating bristled and flared, engines snarling with fury and hostile intent. She wilted with shame under the unwelcome attention, unable to meet the anger and disgust in the Autobots' optics.

The worst of it was when she noticed the look on Optimus's faceplate. His dermas were set in a firm, hard line, and his expression was of one that Riley had hoped would never be directed towards her.

Disappointment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me :/
> 
> Would you rather have short chapters and more frequent updates or longer chapters with rarer updates? Tell me in the comments!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so you know, this chapter (and the next) is one of the main reasons I wanted to write this fic. You’ll, uh, you’ll see why soon :D

Riley was aware of the venom and malice from the Autobots' gazes as they made their displeasure towards her known, but at that moment she could only focus on Optimus.

Optimus, who was staring at her with optic ridges furrowed in apparent disapproval, who had not spoken a word ever since Mirage had brought her back, who was _still staring at her_ , making her feel like curling up onto the ground and disappearing forever.

His silence was heavy and deafening, causing her stomach to turn over and tie itself into a tight knot as she waited with bated breath for him to say something, say _anything_. After what seemed like an eternity, the Prime finally spoke.

"Why?"

The simple word was quiet but loud, the calm utterance wrapped around hidden anger edged with steel and a hint of reproach. Riley had to fight the sudden urge to burst into tears.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, "I didn't betray you, I swear- the soldiers were lying!"

"Did you not deliberately seek them out?"

"Yes- no, _no_! I _did_ leave deliberately, but that's because the _grocyp_ was about to activate! I just wanted to lead them away! Please, you have to believe me! I didn't betray you!"

There was a collective _hissing_ sound from the Autobots' vocalizers as most of them recoiled in disbelief upon hearing what she had said. Optimus's optics widened marginally in sudden understanding before he schooled his features back into a stern, expressionless facade.

"The _grocyp_ was not due to activate until fifty-three hours from now,"

Before Riley could reply, Drift cut in, unintelligible screeches and rattles tumbling from his vocalizer as he questioned the Prime urgently. It was Ratchet, however, who replied in lieu of Optimus, emphasizing his response with a couple of solemn nods of his helm.

When Ratchet had finished, Drift turned to Riley, his gaze a mixture of pity and scorn as he looked upon her.

"You would allow yourself to harbour a _grocyp_ in pursuit of revealing our location to your government?" his voice was layered with distaste and full of judgement, "To tarnish your body as such for a frivolous goal- I had expected better from you, Miss Brown. Clearly, I was wrong."

" _NO_ , I didn't… they didn't… they _forced_ me! Savoy _shoved me on the ground_ and _jabbed_ that thing into my arm!" she was crying freely now, a torrent of tears rolling down her cheeks as despair threatened to overwhelm her, "I didn't want this, I didn't want _any_ of this."

"Kinda hard for us to believe that, given that 'Raj here has concrete proof that you were working for the humans all along," Crosshairs said with derision.

"I wasn't! Savoy lied to them! I don't know why he did that, but he lied! I'm not working for them. Please!" she begged, eyes darting between each of the Autobots' unsympathetic expressions, "Believe me, please."

"First you say the soldiers lied, then you say Savoy lied. Which one is it?" Sideswipe's question had her cringing as she realized her lapse, "Your fibs are contradicting each other, human."

"Savoy. I think. Or… maybe it was the soldiers… I- I don't know!"

Even with her limited perception of Cybertronian electromagnetic fields, she could tell that the Autobots were unimpressed with her answer. The tension simmering in the air grew even more pronounced as she desperately racked her mind for anything that could clear her name.

Come on, come _on_. She was starting to panic, she could feel it. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't sure _what_ exactly she had expected to occur after she ran off but it wasn't _this_. It wasn't being dangled in front of the Autobots and getting labelled a traitor. It wasn't being surrounded by furious engine snarls and blazing, accusing optics. It wasn't Optimus looking at her as if she had single-handedly murdered all his friends, as if he regretted ever trusting her in the first place, as if she hadn't risked _everything in her life_ to save his-

With a gasp, she snapped her head upwards to meet Optimus's optics, her voice pleading, "I warned you about the ambush, didn't I? Why would I do that if I wanted to betray you?"

The Autobot leader's stony countenance faltered at her words, faceplate taking on a conflicted expression. Encouraged by his reaction, she pushed on earnestly, willing every bit of conviction she had into her speech.

"I made the decision to tell you about the ambush because I felt- _knew_ that what the government was doing was _wrong_ , and I didn't want to be a part of that. _That's_ why Savoy put the _grocyp_ inside me, because I wouldn't give him your location even when he proved that he had enough evidence to lock me up forever," she paused, carefully considering how she should express what she wanted to say next without offending the Autobot leader.

"Right before I left just now, I was woken by the feeling of the _grocyp_ activating. It was… really uncomfortable. And weird. And I just _knew_ I had to do something lest Cemetery Wind finds this place," she looked away from Optimus's sharp, assessing gaze before continuing, "I… I wasn't sure if you would be willing to inject your own _grocyp_ into my body to deactivate it because, well, you didn't seem to take it too well last time I asked- no offence, so I thought… leaving would be the best option. I'm sorry. I know it wasn't the best choice, but I swear I had no ulterior motive. I just wanted to lead them away, and that's _all_ I was trying to do."

Something in Optimus's impassive regard softened, and the knot in Riley's gut loosened somewhat. She watched as the Autobot leader rumbled a soft enquiry to Ratchet, to which the medic _clicked_ in acknowledgement before the sensation of a deep medical scan ran through her. Almost immediately after, Ratchet turned to Optimus and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

By the time Optimus looked back at Riley, the animosity in his stance had completely disappeared, the sight alone sending dizzying relief straight to her mind. He made to speak, but was interrupted by Sideswipe, who placed himself angrily between Riley and the Prime.

"Scrap this," he snarled, gesturing aggressively at Riley, "Don't tell me that you're actually _considering_ believing a word she said, Prime. She is _human_ "- the word was spat out like poison- "and their kind never changes. I warned everyone that she would turn on us the instance we let our guard down, didn't I? Well, guess what? She snuck out to conspire with the very organization pit-bent on off-lining us the klik she thought us all in recharge. All humans are the same. _Vile_. _Untrustworthy_. We're better off without one of them in our midst."

"Woah, Sides, don't you think maybe that's a little too harsh? The girl _did_ tell Prime that Cemetery Wind was out to get us. Saved all our tailpipes,"

The frontliner whirled towards Hound like a coiled cobra ready to strike, his flashing optics deadly and dangerous.

"She. Is. A. _Human_ ," he hissed, "Even if she didn't betray us this time, which I doubt, she is bound to do so sometime in the future. It is in her code. I wouldn't expect anything else from her."

"You are making your judgement on Riley based on her species alone," Optimus's statement sounded more like a question.

"So what if I am, Prime?"

"Then you are no different from the humans pursuing us, who believe us identical to the Decepticons due to the fact that we are of the same race,"

Sideswipe froze, outstretched limbs starting to quiver as he struggled to voice out the words with his vocalizer.

"Do _not_ ," he ground out slowly, "compare me to _them_."

Optimus met Sideswipe's furious glare evenly, calmly staring down the bristling frontliner until his flared plating flattened entirely as a sign of submission.

"My apologies, my Prime, I was out of line," he said tersely, waiting until Optimus had inclined his helm in acceptance before retreating to his original position.

Riley's breath hitched when Optimus's attention switched back to her, stunned by the display of absolute authority and power she had just witnessed. To her utmost relief, the disapproval he once wore was completely absent from his expression.

"I believe you, Riley," he then said, and Riley's heart _soared_ with sheer joy.

Unable to keep a huge smile from stretching her face, she watched as Optimus gestured for Mirage to hand her over, servos already reaching out to return her to his hold, and Riley could have cried with happiness at the familiarity and sense of _rightness_ the sight brought.

It wasn't until her feet actually touched the surface of Optimus's servo when a terrifying thought breached her mind. Heart lurching, she wrapped her (finally free!) arms tightly around Mirage's departing digits just as he was about to fully let go of her, screeching a panicked " _Wait!_ "

Mirage stopped, and she quickly took the opportunity to babble an explanation.

"The _grocyp_ \- it's still transmitting my location. Will Savoy be able to pick up its signal without Mirage holding me?"

Riley could tell by the way Mirage resecured his grip on her immediately, completely unsurprised, that it had been a test.

She could also tell from the way warm approval radiated from Optimus's gaze that she'd aced it.

"So, what now?" Crosshairs asked, "Turns out the pest can be trusted after all. Whoop-de-do. But there's still the fact that it's a walking security hazard, what with the tracker inside it and all that."

"I know," Riley replied, taking a deep breath, "that's why I asked Optimus to inject his _grocyp_ inside me."

Her words were once again met with a collection of disbelieved _hisses_ and staticky noises. There was a flurry of quick-fire streams of Cybertronian exchanged among the Autobots, mainly to and from the Autobot leader, then one by one the Autobots backed away from the semi-circle they had formed around Mirage, exiting the room until only Optimus, Ratchet, Drift, Mirage, and Riley were left.

Approaching Riley with light pedesteps, Drift dropped into a formal kneel in front of her, dipping his helm reverently.

"I apologize for my presumptive conduct, Miss Brown," he said gravely, his helm still held low, "It was wrong of me to have made assumptions and disrespected you as I did."

Riley blinked, a bit taken aback by his forwardness, "Ah- it's… completely okay. Don't worry about it. I would have done the same."

"Thank you, Miss Brown, for excusing my behaviour. I shall not disturb your privacy any further,"

With that, the samurai rose gracefully to his pedes and walked away.

Not wasting a second, Ratchet instantly got to business, "Optimus, if you would please?"

The Prime seemed to steel himself before the plating on his right index digit slid open to reveal a rectangular-shaped appendage that looked similar to the device Savoy used on her.

Only, it was completely different.

Whereas Savoy's version had been dark and dull, Optimus's was vibrant and _alive_ , the Cybertronian glyphs on its surface lighting up with a pale blue hue. If it weren't for everything it represented, Riley would even have said it was _beautiful_.

The digits around her shifted until she was sitting freely in the palm of Mirage's servos instead of being grasped in an unyielding hold. Before she could voice her appreciation, Ratchet stepped forward, motioning for her arm. She held out her hand and the medic pinched her forearm between two enormous digits with gentle precision, running a scan through her entire limb until a thin, slightly curvy line on her skin appeared, illuminated by lasers emitted from Ratchet's optics, the cool blue contrasting greatly with her pale skin.

"The current _grocyp_ is located in the right ventricle, lodged between the edge of the tricuspid valve and the endocardium of the heart wall. One of the easiest routes to reach it would be through the basilic vein, which eventually empties into the superior vena cava and into the heart," Ratchet said briskly, stepping aside so that Optimus could get nearer, "I have indicated the position of the vein on the youngling's arm for your reference while you proceed."

Riley only understood a few of those words, like ' _grocyp_ ' and 'heart' and 'position', but she assumed the gist of what Ratchet had just said to be "Here, stab at any point along this line and you're good".

Optimus's left servo came forward to envelop her back delicately, digits curling from behind carefully to steady her arm, holding it in place. Once her arm's position has been secured, Ratchet withdrew, giving Optimus more space to work with.

"Riley,"

She looked up at Optimus at the mention of her name. The Prime was staring right at her, his optics searching, probing for any sign of fear or reluctance, "are you certain?"

With a small smile, she lifted her right arm and placed her minuscule hand on the armour covering his forearm, trying her best to replicate what he had done to reassure her just a day ago, "I _trust_ you, Optimus Prime."

With much more care than necessary, Optimus covered her left hand up to the wrist with his right servo, gently, lightly pressing the tip of his index digit against her skin. Riley tensed, experience having taught her to expect a stinging pain upon contact.

It barely even registered. All Riley felt was a strange numbness along her arm and then Optimus was pulling away, leaving behind a tiny prick of pink on her skin.

"It is done," Ratchet declared, "my scanners indicate that the _grocyp_ has been successfully implanted."

Done? That was it? Didn't the two _grocyp_ have to battle it out inside her body or something- oh. _Oh_.

If last night had felt like a vacuum had been sucking her energy away from her, _this_ felt like a freaking _black hole_ was consuming every bit of energy she had to spare. She collapsed forward into Optimus's waiting servo, sprawling uselessly on the warm metal as the alien implants seemed to rip the very life away from her as they fought for dominance. Her senses turned fuzzy and she couldn't move even if she'd tried. Dimly, she wondered if she should panic, but she was too exhausted to even attempt doing or feeling anything. All in all, it was probably the worst thing she had ever experienced.

And then it was over.

Panting heavily, she continued to cling limply to Optimus's servo, waiting for the remaining vertigo to ebb away. Gentle digits pushed the hair hanging over her eyes, completely matted with sweat, behind her ears before carefully helping her upright herself, supporting most of her weight. She grimaced as a medical scan washed over her, worsening her nausea significantly.

"The procedure was a success. The dormant _grocyp_ 's signal carries your signature, Optimus."

"Thank you, old friend,"

She shook her head lightly, blinking to get rid of the blurriness creeping from the edge of her vision. For some reason she felt weak and sickly, sweating profusely even as a chill swept across her body. The digit she was leaning on was quickly becoming an important source of warmth, and she hugged it tightly with clammy hands, attempting to reduce the distance between her and it even further even though she was already pressing up against it.

"-ungling,"

Someone was talking to her. She winced as her sluggish brain tried to piece together what was being said, and by whom. Everything was so hazy, and her head was spinning, spinning. Was this normal? Should she be worried? She couldn't tell.

"Little one!"

Her body was raised quickly and she let out a pitiful moan. She was moving too fast. Way too fast for her liking.

"Stop, it hurts," she tried to say, but her words were all slurred and couldn't entirely make it out of her mouth.

"…low blood sugar," a voice said, barely audible over the buzzing in her ears, "…must consume fast-acting carbohydrates before…"

Sugar. She needed to eat something sweet, but what?

_"Concentrated Milk Flavour!" the box proclaimed helpfully._

The tube of candy she got from the store! Where was it? The last time she saw it was when she was in Optimus's alt, and after that…

_She stored it in the pocket of her uniform._

Fumbling fingers scrabbed at the flimsy piece of fabric that was her pocket several times before finally slipping inside, clumsily bringing out the plastic-lined cardboard box. She tried to open it up, but her fingers wouldn't cooperate and the box slipped, clattering onto the metal surface she was standing on.

Before she could panic, there was a prick on the side of her arm and the discomfort slowly faded away. Her breathing eased, her vision cleared, and she looked up to see Optimus's gaze burning with worry.

"I'm okay, I think," she assured him, giving his digits a pat as she slowly attempted to support her own weight instead of relying on Optimus to hold her up.

"I just administered a glucose injection to your bloodstream, youngling, but your blood sugar level is still too low for my liking," Ratchet's professional tone interrupted briskly, "Ingest fast-acting carbohydrates immediately."

"Okay, thanks Ratchet," Riley replied, picking up the fallen box and taking out a candy, unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth.

Ratchet made a satisfied noise and moved away, leaving Riley alone with Optimus and Mirage, who was quickly dismissed with a nod from Optimus.

As soon as he was out of audible range, the Prime lifted Riley up to optic-level and lowered his helm to gently press his forehelm against the top of her head, ex-venting slowly and heavily.

Startled by the sudden display of tenderness, Riley stayed completely still, allowing Optimus to continue resting his helm on her head while his free servo snaked around her back so that her entire body was boxed in by warm metal.

"When my sensors could no longer detect your life signature after I was roused from recharge," his next words were so soft that Riley almost missed them, "I had feared the worst."

He pulled away slightly, blue luminescent rings flaring bright as they scorched themselves into her eyes, "I knew not what had become of you, or whether you were in danger. It was… deeply unpleasant."

Guilt reared its ugly head once more, plunging her into deep shame as she remembered what she had promised the Prime when he had rescued her.

_Stay with me. Allow me to protect you from potential harm. Do not attempt to escape again._

It was safe to say she completely messed _that_ up.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she whispered, her pronunciation slightly distorted by the piece of hard candy still in her mouth. Ashamed, she looked down, unable to meet Optimus's optics.

Air heated by internal mechanisms in Optimus's frame gushed from his vents, ruffling her hair.

"Your intentions were honourable," he pointed out gently, "I cannot fault you for attempting to lead danger away from my Autobots."

She shook her head, still unable to get rid of the guilt that clung on to her, "I could have done something else. Should have woken you, or Ratchet. If Cemetery Wind had been watching the area, they could have spotted me leaving the building and immediately discovered where you were and it would have been all my fault. It still is."

"You are not infallible, little one," Optimus reminded her, carefully tilting her chin upwards to face him, "It is not unexpected for anyone to make the wrong decision even with the right intentions. In some instances it is all one can do to accept their mistakes and move on."

Her breath left her with a drawn out whoosh, taking with it her remaining uncertainties and self-loathing. Emotionally drawn, she wrapped her arms around the digit under her chin, suddenly hoping more than anything for Optimus's calming presence to soothe her frayed nerves. She wanted, she wanted…

"Can I-"

The words escaped her mouth before she could stop them. Eyes widening, she looked away, cheeks flushing in embarrassment as her brain finally caught up with what she had wanted to ask.

"What is it, little one?"

She hadn't wanted to answer, afraid that her request would be met with ridicule, but under Optimus's patient, encouraging regard and her own emotional longing to be comforted, she relented, timidly voicing out her wish.

"Can I… can I hug you?"

The Prime jerked slightly, as if surprised by her plea, then his gaze softened. Warmed.

"Certainly,"

He brought her close to his chest plates, right above where his spark was hidden away, protected by layers of armour. As if she had been doing it all her life, Riley spread her arms and embraced the warm metal, pressing the side of her head into the seam between the two panes of glass as Optimus gently shielded her back with a servo.

They stayed like that for a long time, and as the rhythmic hum of Optimus's spark washed over her like a sense of serenity and harmony, Riley found herself drifting off into a peaceful, blissful sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: FLUFF. ALL DA FLUFF :D


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Couple of changes I’ve made since last update (apart from _this_ update, of course)
> 
> 1\. I’ve added a small paragraph in the last chapter before Riley hugged Optimus (from ‘ _Her breath left her_ ’ to ‘ _she wanted…_ ’) to make the transition from conversation to hugging smoother and less forced. It had been two in the morning when I posted the last chapter and I had been way too tired to go through the whole thing again before posting. Don’t judge (please)
> 
> 2\. I’ve completely (well not _completely_ ) reordered my [_The Prime and His Soldier_ series](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1652653) so now it’s chronologically ordered instead of ordered by posting date, with the exception of [_Random Drabbles and Convos_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25068253/chapters/60719947) because I have no idea when _that_ belongs on the timeline
> 
>   
> Thank you, everyone, for all your supportive comments! They are a huge source of motivation. I’m really glad everyone commented that they want fluff, cuz I want fluff too! (I’ve mistreated Riley for far too long now) Now get ready, because EXTREME FLUFF SCENES INCOMING! :D

It was the sound of an engine's low purr, deep and languid and rolling, that slowly roused her, gradually easing her into consciousness. Mumbling sleepily, she turned and buried her face into the pillow, lazily pulling the warm covers closer to her body.

She could _feel_ the gentle amusement encompassing the air around her as she burrowed even deeper into the blankets, refusing to wake just yet. Finally, when her body had decided that it could no longer go back to sleep, did she reluctantly open her eyes, blearily taking in the ceiling of Optimus's sleeper.

"Good morning, little one," Optimus's warm greeting filled the entire cabin.

"Good morning, Optimus," she murmured drowsily in reply, voice rough from misuse. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she rolled onto her back on the plushy bedding, waiting for her memories from the day before to return as her mind shook off the remnants of sleep.

When they did, and boy did they return, she pushed herself upwards into a sitting position until she was leaning against the walls of the cab, facing the dashboard.

"I have questions," she stated honestly, legs still entwined in the sheets. It was true. By the time all the excitement had ended last night, she had been way too tired to think or worry about anything, only wanting to get to sleep as soon as possible. Now that she had rested sufficiently, her brain began spitting out question after question, all of which should have been asked the night before.

"That is to be expected,"

"I also need to pee," she added, feeling the slight pressure in her bladder, "and eat."

"Of course,"

That was when she realized that they had been moving, slowly rolling from the main area to the edge of the loading area, up until Optimus parked right outside of the office she had claimed.

She untangled herself and clambered out of the sleeper, slipping on her sneakers (how on earth did Optimus manage to get them off in the first place anyway?) and jumping onto the open ground, a hand curled around Optimus's door handle for balance.

After quickly relieving herself (and thoroughly thanking whoever was forgetful enough to leave several rolls of toilet paper in an abandoned factory building before they left), she hauled the two bags of groceries onto the steel desk, rummaging through them carelessly before selecting a pack of Oreos and two Twinkies. After that she took a much needed drink from one of the five-litre bottles she had ~~stolen~~ gotten from the store, taking care not to gulp down too much of the precious liquid. Ten litres. That was all she had. It would last her for five days, maybe a week if she drew it out. The tap in the bathroom had water, but it was so grimy and rusty that it would take a lot before she resorted to even _try_ drinking it.

Riley wasn't sure whether she should finish her breakfast before returning, since she didn't know whether Optimus would mind her dirtying his interior, but Optimus was still there, right outside the room, his driver's door held open invitingly, and something at the back of her head kept whispering for her to go back to Optimus, back to safety, back to shelter.

She climbed back into the semi.

The door closed behind her immediately and she settled down comfortably into the driver's seat, picking out the packet of Oreos and discarding the rest of the food onto the passenger seat. The metalized plastic packaging crinkled loudly as she opened it.

Silence descended upon the cabin as Optimus waited patiently for her to speak.

"So," she said awkwardly, taking out one of the chocolate-flavoured biscuits, "let's start with what happened last night. Why did I feel like I was about to die after you put the new _grocyp_ inside me?"

She stuck the cookie into her mouth, grimacing slightly as the overpowering sweetness overstimulated her still-awakening taste buds. Note to self: start the day with something more bland from now on.

The radio staticked for half a second before Optimus's voice emerged.

"That would be due to the means from which a _grocyp_ obtains power to remain functional," he explained as Riley chewed, "A _grocyp_ mainly draws from the host's source of power to sustain their daily purpose. All functions performed by _grocyp_ are directly powered by energy supplied by the host, which includes the activation of Self-Defense Protocols."

Air swooshed from the vents on the dashboard as the Prime released an ex-vent.

"Normally, such would be powered by energon, since _grocyp_ were meant for binding symbiotes of Cybertronian origin to their masters. The energy intake of the symbiotes far surpasses that consumed for the operation of the _grocyp_ , which is why no such problem has occurred before.

"However, the _grocyp_ in your body do not have access to energon, nor is your energy intake high enough that the activities of the _grocyp_ could be considered negligible, which is why your body suffered from hypoglycemic shock after the activation of Self-Defense Protocols of both _grocyp_ exhausted most of the glucose present in your bloodstream,"

"Ah," Riley said eloquently a few seconds later, slowly leaning back into the headrest, "Is that going to be a normal occurrence then? Me randomly fainting whenever the _grocyp_ strains itself- wait"- her fingers clutched at the seat with sudden excitement as a thought dawned on her- "can you get it out this time? It hasn't been inside my body for as long as the last one, and we have all the time in the world to try."

Something in the air shifted, and Riley could have _sworn_ she felt the semi wince. _Uh oh_. Warning signs started flashing in front of her eyes and she waited with her gut clenching for the blow to be dealt.

It was when the seat belt came out of its holder to wrap around her, sliding into the buckle with a click before tentatively squeezing as if in comfort, that Riley realized she wasn't about to escape this conversation unscathed.

"You already know you can't take it out, don't you?" she _hated_ how small and frail she sounded. She was a _soldier_ , darnit, had undergone countless training to keep her emotions in check, so why on earth was it so gosh darn hard to reign in her emotions whenever she was in close proximity with the Autobot leader? What was it about him that made her want to unload her every fear and uncertainty into his audios?

"Ratchet performed multiple scans while you were resting," the Prime's voice was soft, sympathetic and filled with regret, "Upon neutralization of the hostile _grocyp_ , my _grocyp_ has entered your arteriolar network via your bloodstream, which is located too deep within your frame for Ratchet to extract safely."

He paused before hesitantly adding, "I truly apologize for-"

"Don't apologize," Riley said quickly, staring fixedly at a spot on the dashboard, "it's not your fault. I chose this."

She chose this, despite knowing the risks and implications. This was what she _wanted_ , to be marked by Optimus instead of Cemetery Wind, because this was the lesser of two evils. This would not result in the loss of her privacy and autonomy. She _knew that_ , so this didn't bother her at all. She was fine. She was _fine_.

She was _fine_.

…

No, she wasn't.

It didn't matter that Optimus wasn't going to use it, she was still going to be stuck with a piece of alien technology inside her for the rest of her life. She was still going to register as a possession, a _pet_ , on their scanners. She was still no longer one hundred percent human.

She _wasn't_ okay.

Slowly, bit by bit, her facade began to break, until tears were welling up in her eyes from the unfairness of it all, from the loss of her humanity, from the weight of her trepidation, her worries, her doubts.

The packet of Oreos lay forgotten at the edge of her seat as she gradually, systematically broke down, choked sobs muffled by the back of her hand. Optimus's sparkling cable curled around her wrist in silent support while she released her pent up emotions little by little, rubbing her lower arm soothingly.

Riley's tears soon dried up, and she wiped the last trace of them from her eyes forcefully.

"Sorry, I just had to get that out," she rasped, feeling substantially better after her long overdue cry, "I'm okay now."

She was slightly surprised to find that what she said was actually true. She _did_ feel fine now. Silence befell the Optimus's cab, comforting and supportive, as she slowly composed herself.

"Can you… tell me more about what will eventually happen?" she eventually asked, tracing an index finger lightly along the sparkling cable, "So that I can mentally prepare myself. For when the time comes."

Both her seat belt and the sparkling cable tightened briefly before Optimus replied.

"Certainly," he said, voice sounding slightly strained, "The _grocyp_ should fully integrate itself within your frame upon the following sixty five hours. Upon activation, you may experience faint discomfort as the establishment of a master-symbiote bond requires a substantial amount of energy."

"Master-symbiote bond?" Riley asked, testing out the unfamiliar word on her tongue.

"Ah," he paused, "You are unfamiliar with the term."

"Am I… not supposed to be?" she blinked, "I'm sorry, but I really don't remember you mentioning anything about bonds when you were training us."

"I did not, for such knowledge is not required for subduing Decepticons," Optimus replied smoothly, "I had not wished for your leaders to learn of such information."- here Riley couldn't help nodding vigorously in agreement- "However, as the circumstances are markedly different at present,"- _clearly_ , Riley thought- "I do not see the harm in enlightening you about customs and practices of my kind."

"Bonds," he continued, sparkling cable gently guiding her hand to the abandoned pack of Oreos (the silent suggestion was followed without complaint), "are tangible connections that link one being with another, allowing thoughts and feelings to be shared at will. Unlike comm links, which are used for verbal communication between any two Cybertronians, a bond between two individuals will tie the two sparks together, forming a permanent connection only breakable by the off-lining of one party.

"There are several bond types, including but not limited to Creator bonds, spark bonds and master-symbiote bonds. All are similar by nature, and differ mostly by the balance in control over the bond from both parties. Spark bonds are the most balanced, where both sides are able to open or close their side of the bond at will, thus regulating the data shared over the connection. Creator bonds are more unbalanced. Although the sparkling could close off their side of the bond should they desire to, the Creator has the power to reopen the bond despite the wishes of the sparkling. Data transfer to and fro the bond is thus largely controlled by the Creator,"

"Wait, you're saying that some Cybertronians are telepathic?" Riley questioned, thoroughly intrigued. The now-empty blue packaging joined the rest of the wrappings in her left pocket (the candy was safely stored in the right).

"Your assumption is not entirely accurate," Optimus made a thoughtful hum, "The word 'telepathic' suggests that such connection can be made at any moment with whomever the mechanoid chooses. The formation of bonds, however, is typically an intimate and revered affair, and only occurs between Cybertronians who have already formed a close relationship, such as Conjunx Endura, Amica, trines, or gestalts. Severing of bonds will cause physical pain to all parties involved, and may even result in spark failure if the damage to the spark is too severe."

"That's horrible!" she gasped, clutching the sparkling cable closer.

"Indeed," Optimus replied grimly, "with the progression of the Autobot-Decepticon war, the number of bonded mechanoids, no matter the bond type, has dwindled. Bonds, once beheld as sacred and precious, had become a liability."

"Do you have a bond with someone?" Riley asked before she could stop herself.

"Once," Optimus answered before she could apologize for being insensitive, "I had an Amica."

The solemn note in his tone prevented Riley from probing any further.

"What about master-symbiote bonds?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Master-symbiote bonds are the most imbalanced of all bonds," Optimus said, almost regretfully, "The master holds absolute control over the bond, and the symbiote's side of the bond is constantly open, continuously transmitting data over the bond space. Unless the master deliberately blocks off the symbiote, all that the symbiote does will be accessible for monitoring."

"So," Riley's tongue feels thick and dry in her mouth, and she swallowed before continuing, "spark bonds are like both sides having a door each, Creator bonds are like both sides having a door, but the parent has a spare key, and master-symbiote bonds are like… only having one door, but it's on the master's side."

There was a brief period of silence, followed by Optimus saying quietly, "Your comparison is accurate."

Her unease must have been telling on her face, for Optimus added, almost urgently, "Riley, you have my word that I would never attempt to access the bond without your explicit consent beforehand-"

"I know that," she interrupted softly, "It's okay, really. I just need some time to digest this."

There was another shift in the air, as if Optimus was debating on whether to tell her something else, and she sat there patiently, pulling lightly on the sparkling cable as she waited.

"There is the factor that you are human as opposed to Cybertronian," he finally said, sparkling cable twitching in response to her exploratory touches, "Ratchet is uncertain whether the _grocyp_ will perform normally as the previous one activated prematurely. It is entirely possible that no bond will be established, although Ratchet is reluctant to speculate without further data."

_But it's better for her not to get her hopes up_. The unspoken thought resonated clearly within the cab.

Riley straightened her back and took a deep breath before asking her last question, chest fluttering with nerves, "Yesterday. You called me your sparkling. Ratchet told me to talk to you about it, so, can you, uh, I mean, can we talk about it?"

She felt her heart sink when the sparkling cable withdrew abruptly, believing that she had offended the Prime somehow. As if sensing her worries, Optimus let the cable linger briefly on her cheek before pulling away, the metal wire curling around the individually wrapped Twinkies on his passenger seat, placing them onto her lap and disappearing into its housing beneath his steering wheel.

"This is a conversation I would prefer to partake in while in bipedal mode," he explained, and she nodded quickly in understanding, stuffing the cakes into her right pocket before reaching for the door, intending to let herself out so that Optimus could transform freely.

The handle didn't budge.

Puzzled, she opened her mouth to say something only to be stopped by Optimus transforming around her. Unlike last time, this transformation was leisurely and unhurried, the movements drawn out and deliberate. Plating swivelled and spun in front of her slowly, so close to her that she could reach out and touch them if she wanted to, before shifting away, making room for other pieces of armour. She was gently pushed onto a hard metallic surface as the seat folded away and disappeared behind a pair of red-framed windshields.

Once the transformation had been completed, Optimus lifted her carefully, staring down at her with an intensity that could melt steel. There was a hint of something else in his expression, one that Riley couldn't quite discern, a small, subtle flicker of vulnerability that seemed completely out of place on the Prime's noble visage.

"I have… discovered as of late that my Creator Protocols have been online without my prior knowledge," Optimus began, assessing gaze tracking her reaction, never leaving her face, "At first, I had assumed it was an error and dismissed it. However, it soon became clear that it had never been an error."

He paused, optics once again sweeping over her form, as if searching for something. Whatever he found seemed to satisfy the Prime, for he then continued.

"The coding in my Creator Protocols has rewritten itself to accommodate one individual," he held her closer, close enough that she could hear the _whirr_ of his internal mechanisms, " _You_ , Riley."

She gasped, because although she had been expecting this ever since the talk with Ratchet, actually experiencing it, hearing the sincerity in Optimus's voice, feeling the burning, searing gaze, heavy with expectation, pinning her down, was completely different.

"Me?" she whispered, swallowing to get rid of the thickness in her throat. The entire situation felt so surreal. Three days ago, she had been a nobody, one out of a hundred and twenty soldiers under Cemetery Wind's command, not the least bit outstanding. And yet here she was, sitting in the palm of the _leader of the Autobots'_ servo, listening to him tell her that he considered her to be someone special. Special enough to be regarded as one of his own.

" _You_ ," Optimus rumbled deeply, leaning forward to press his forehelm to hers. Her skin glowed blue under the illumination of the Autobot's optics.

"What does this mean?" she asked breathlessly, her mind still reeling from the enormity of Optimus's declaration.

"Little one," and here Optimus's optics burned even brighter, "I would lay down my life to ensure your safety and protect you from harm, be it physical or emotional. You shall not come to harm again as long as I function."

She shivered at the stark _promise_ and _conviction_ carried in the Prime's statement, feeling simultaneously honoured and humbled. Her mouth opened, but Optimus, correctly guessing her intention, cut her off before she could speak.

"Do not attempt to dissuade me," he told her, lightly brushing a wisp of hair away from her eyes, "you know not how precious you have become to me."

There, held tightly and securely in the powerful titan's embrace, Riley found that she did not regret defying Cemetery Wind in the least.

* * *

Barely an hour had passed before an all-too-familiar sinking feeling manifested, this time seemingly coming from all over her body. Optimus had been receiving a report from Mirage and Sideswipe, who had been monitoring the Cemetery Wind mainframe and communications network to ensure the organization had not picked up their trail yet, when Riley gasped, nearly falling off her perch on Optimus's servo (Sideswipe had looked fairly disgruntled when he was told to deliver the report with 'the human' present). Ratchet was called, the others were ushered away, and she was carefully arranged to a sitting position, one hand braced on her lap and breathing harshly.

There wasn't much Ratchet could do, however, apart from keeping an eye on her vitals and making sure they didn't get critical. A pressure was building up in her head, slowly but steadily increasing in strength. It felt like the end of a sharpened sword was gradually pushed outwards into a barrier encompassing the edge of her mind, causing the surface to bow outwards under the force while sending razor-sharp agony straight to every cell in her brain. She moaned, voice laced with pain and fear, and clutched at her head with both hands, barely noticing the gentle strokes along her back as an attempt to soothe her.

The pressure intensified, the sword pushing further and further, until Riley was sure that she was going to die because the pain- it was too much. It was too much and it was still increasing with every passing second as the sword _kept moving outwards_ , blinding agony striking through every single nerve, pain, _pain_ , _PAIN_ -

The sword pierced through the barrier, and instantly Riley was flooded with a torrent of _sensation_ and _worry_ and _guilt_ and _surprise_ and _shock_ and _joy_ before the stream was abruptly cut off, leaving her strangely empty. The pain had all but abated, fading to a dull throb at the back of her mind that she easily ignored.

"What… what just happened?" she asked shakily, glancing up at the two Autobots. Both mechs were wearing identical expressions of shock.

That's when she felt it. A warm, radiating presence hovering right at the brink of her mind where the sword had broken through just moments before. Curious, she turned her attention inwards and approached it carefully, stopping when she reached the edge of her mind. Then, following her instincts, she went up and _brushed_ against it.

All at once, the wave of _surprise-shock-joy_ came rushing back, followed quickly by a flicker of _contrition-reluctance_ before the presence pulled away, leaving behind the same strange hollow feeling in its wake. Dismayed, she followed it, longing for the sense of peace and security the presence brought. Despite her attempts to catch up with it, the presence always slipped away before she had a chance to reach it, which was mildly frustrating and, for some reason, slightly upsetting.

"Riley,"

She looked up. Optimus was examining her carefully, his expression pensive.

"What you are currently attempting will activate the bond. Are you certain this is your objective?"

Riley froze, subconsciously reaching for the presence, which once again moved away before she could approach it. Was this what she wanted? Did she want the bond to activate?

_Yes_ , she decided, she did. It was unexplainable, but _not_ approaching the presence felt _wrong_. It made her feel empty and vulnerable and miserable and she _hated_ it.

"Yes," she repeated, more for herself than for Optimus, "Yes, I am."

She tried reaching for the presence again and this time it stayed exactly where it was, allowing her to get close and, after a moment of hesitation, she pressed into the warm presence.

Instantly a connection bloomed to life and she could _feel_ Optimus's quiet elation as his mental presence embraced hers, sending over pulses of _pride_ and _joy_.

_//My sparkling,//_ he rumbled softly, his voice akin to a soft caress over her mind.

_//This… this is the master-symbiote bond?//_ she asked. Surely, it could not be. With Optimus's description of it, she was led to believe that it would feel violating and intrusive. This was the complete opposite. This was fitting and special and… _right_.

There was another swell of _approval_ and _pride_.

_//This is not a master-symbiote bond,//_ Optimus told her, almost wonderingly, _//This is a Creator bond.//_

It took awhile for the information to sink in, but when it did, her hand flew over her mouth as she was bombarded by a flurry of complicated emotions she couldn't clearly decipher.

_//I… I have a door?//_ she managed, her chest feeling strangely tight.

Optimus's presence leaned closer, and she could sense his _acknowledgement_ and _agreement_ even before he replied.

_//You have a door,//_

She hadn't realized she was crying until she looked up towards Optimus and found her eyes blurry with tears. Laughing shakily, she closed her eyes and curled up against the armour protecting his spark chamber, letting Optimus tuck her mental presence into a cocoon of _warmth_ and _protectiveness_ as he seemed to wrap himself around her.

"Remarkable," Ratchet murmured from afar, but Riley was too occupied to care. Optimus's mental presence was beautiful- radiating wisdom and compassion and dignity, and Riley felt unimaginably small and insignificant in comparison. Her thoughts were immediately met with gentle rebuff as Optimus shared his perception of her mental presence- small but resilient, blazing with courage, integrity and loyalty.

_//You know not how precious you have become to me,//_ he reminded her, running a digit through her hair.

"As much as I hate to interrupt, you need to eat, youngling," Ratchet's gruff reminder jerked her from her trance, "your blood sugar level still hasn't recovered completely."

A sliver of _amusement_ passed from the bond as Optimus sensed her reluctance to leave, but he gently let go of her mental presence and _pushed_ her back across the bond. A second later, she was back in her own mind. Optimus's presence was still _there_ , observing her with patient regard, but the sensation of being _connected_ was much less intense than before.

Keeping her focus fixed on the warm, tingly feeling of having _Optimus Prime_ in her brain, she drew out the cardboard box from her right pocket and unwrapped her third piece of candy, popping it into her mouth. The empty wrapper- now folded- joined the other two at the back of the box.

It was then when she became aware of the intense _curiosity_ coming from Optimus. When she looked at him questioningly, he gave her a small smile.

_//Our species do not perceive the sense of taste as your kind does. The identified chemicals present in substances are interpreted as data and will not trigger emotional responses,//_ he explained, _//This has been an illuminating experience.//_

_//Ah, okay,//_

She went up to the warm presence lingering at the back of her mind and pressed herself to it, feeling the flash of _surprise-fondness_ before deliberately focusing on the smooth, milky flavour on her tongue, savouring the creamy sweetness mixed with just the right amount of saltiness to balance out the flavour. At once, the _surprise_ morphed to _understanding_ and _appreciation_ , and she closed her eyes contently, immersing herself in the sensation of being surrounded- both physically and spiritually- by the Prime.

_Yes_ , she decided, _she did not regret a single thing_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of course, I had to mix a bit ~~(a lot)~~ of angst into it as well, because I'm a horrible person :)
> 
> Believe me, I have _agonised_ over whether to include the first part of this chapter because I've promised happy fluff and that was like, sad fluff at best. BUT, Riley _did_ just lose a small part of her humanity and I can't just have her _not care about that_ at all. She's gonna have to cope with it sooner or later anyway, better to have it all over with as soon as possible to make way for real fluff :D
> 
> The illustration and explanation of different bond types in this chapter is heavily inspired by [chapter 13 of Signature](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20590394/chapters/50572829) by [Arabis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/arabis/pseuds/arabis)! Go check out her story if you haven’t already. Trust me, you won’t regret it. A huge thanks to Arabis for allowing me to use concepts from her stories in mine :)  
> (Woah, I just realized, _this_ chapter is _also_ chapter 13. Crazy coincidence, huh?)
> 
> The descriptions of the Creator bond- particularly how different mental presences interact, was also partially based from [chapter 19](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20590394/chapters/51256366) of the same story. If you find it difficult to picture what the bond is like from this chapter, go read Arabis’s descriptions. She wrote it first, and she wrote it best.
> 
> Three guesses on who the amica was ;)
> 
> Guys, since school has started, my updates will be a lot more sparse from now on. I’m talking several months between updates. Sorry about that! :P


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